Policy in place

First a new director, now a new admission policy and code of conduct. Changes are happening at Jay County Country Living.

Jay County Commissioners approved an admission policy and resident code of conduct Monday for the living facility formerly known as Jay County Retirement Center.

According to the policy, residents applying to live at the facility must: be able to walk or transfer to and from a wheelchair independently, take care of personal bathroom needs, dress and bathe independently; be cooperative and non-combative; sign in and out as they enter and leave the premises; bathe at least twice a week; change clothes every day; and adhere to the meal schedule.

Among other items, the policy requires potential residents to complete a full assessment prior to the application process to ensure they are physically capable of living at the facility — the assessment will be scored by the director. If denied, the applicant may appeal the director’s decision in writing to Jay County Country Living’s advisory board of directors. 

Rent must be paid by the 20th day of each month, either privately or with help from Indiana Residential Care Assistance Program, and residents must have health insurance and provide emergency contact information.

Residents are also expected to follow several rules of conduct: 

•Being mentally and physically capable of providing self-care

•Providing their own clothing, toiletries, medication and supplemental supplies

•Being responsible for or having another party to pay for their physician’s fees, other professional fees and charges and ambulance fees for transportation to the hospital

•Taking medications if prescribed and keeping scheduled appointments with doctors, therapists and case managers if applicable

•Being polite and considerate of others

•Observing quiet times

•Behaving in a manner that is not threatening or disturbing to others

Cindy Bracy, president of Jay County Country Living’s advisory board, noted the policy has been approved by the group. Residents will be asked to sign the policy once in effect, with Bracy pointing out board members asked for residents’ input on a draft of the code of conduct at a past board meeting and that residents seemed receptive to it. 

Commissioners Rex Journay and Chad Aker, absent Brian McGalliard, approved the new admission policy.

In related news, Bracy noted the facility’s new director, Stacey Johnson, started working Monday. Johnson is training under interim director Melissa Blankley for the next few weeks. 

Commissioners also heard from three insurance brokers Monday regarding fully funded and partially self-funded health insurance plans for next year.

Jessica Clayton with OneDigital shared a renewal offer for the county with its current provider, Physicians Health Plan, and offers from a few other providers for a fully funded plan. 

Physicians Health Plan’s renewal includes an 8% increase — it initially came in at 18% — for a total annual premium of $1.536 million, along with a 40% refund agreement mirroring the current year. Clayton noted the county’s loss ratio came in at 102% amid the renewal process and now sits at 116%. 

Anthem offered a plan with a 4% increase from the current year — a $1.48 million annual premium — with a 25% refund agreement. (Clayton noted employees currently using a Health Reimbursement Arrangement would require a third-party administrator for the plan through Anthem.) 

United Healthcare offered a plan with a 19% increase.

Addressing the county potentially seeking a partially self-funded plan, she pointed to a claimant who has been marked as a $2 million “laser” — a higher individual deductible for a single claimant within a stop-loss insurance policy — and suggested it may not be the right time to try self-funding.

Forrest Williamson of Unified Group Services — Steve Stockton of Portland’s Bixler Insurance proposed earlier this month switching the county to a partially self-funded plan through the provider — referenced the same issue, suggesting if they moved forward finding that claimant another healthcare plan. Their proposed options for annual expected costs came in around $1.5 million.

Representatives from Understand, Service and Innovate (USI) Insurance said they believed the last few years of claims from the county showed potential for a partially self-funded plan and asked for time to input new data into their proposal.

Commissioners took offers from One Digital and Bixler Insurance under advisement. Aker asked representatives from USI Insurance to share their proposal within a week.

Also Monday, commissioners heard from Mike McCool, an engineer with consulting firm Egis, formerly Beam, Longest and Neff. McCool shared potential temporary solutions for repairs to some of the county’s timber bridges but later noted the fixes may only give the county an additional four to 10 years before they need more attention. He explained the average life expectancy for a timber bridge is generally between 25 to 40 years. (Many of the county’s timber bridges were installed in the 1980s.) 

The county recently closed two roads because of unsafe bridges, which likely won’t be fully repaired or replaced until Jay County can secure grant funding in the coming years.

In other business, commissioners:

•Signed a letter of support for internet service provider Mainstream Fiber Networks to pursue funding through Indiana’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program for a broadband project in Jay County. East Central Indiana Regional Planning District’s regional coordinator for broadband, Autumn Marshall, noted she’s been coordinating with Jay County Emergency Management Agency, Ritter Strategic Services and Mainstream Fiber Networks to look into offering a cost effective countywide broadband project. Marshall shared hopes to have estimates for the project by the end of the year.

•Approved the following: a $20,720.24 contract with Hays + Sons Complete Restoration of Muncie for restoring parts of Jay County Recorder’s Office and Jay County Prosecutor’s Office in Jay County Courthouse damaged from a water leak in September; replacing carpet in Jay Circuit Court’s bailiff’s office and Jay County Assessor’s Office for $5,240.02 and $7,063.97, respectively, with Medler’s Furniture; a $1,720 contract with Clemens Home Solutions of Muncie for repairing gutters at Dunkirk Emergency Medical Service base, which also serves as Dunkirk Fire Department. The cost will be split with the City of Dunkirk.

•OK’d decommissioning a 2009 truck from Jay County Highway Department’s fleet and selling it in the near future.

•Gave permission for county clerk Jon Eads to switch companies used for court collections. (Jay County Circuit Court sends court attendees a 30-day notice alerting them to pay their bill before it is forwarded onto the collection agency.) The county will be switching from Capital Recovery to PayCourt of Taylorville, Illinois. 

•Heard 2,485 Jay County residents — approximately 22.5% of registered voters — had voted early in-person at the courthouse as of Monday, with 213 of those residents voting on Monday. “Well, these are contentious times,” commented Aker. “So there’s no excuse for someone to not vote. Go out and vote, everyone.”

•Paid nearly $1.96 million in claims, approximately $816,000 of which accounts for road resurfacing completed by Brooks Construction. (The amount is covered by an Indiana Department of Transportation Community Crossings grant.)