County Considers $500,000 Contribution for New Centre Care Facility

Centre County commissioners on Tuesday expressed support for a $500,000 contribution from the county to Centre Care for the nonprofit’s new skilled nursing facility to be constructed in College Township.

When completed in 2020, the new 240-bed facility off of Benner Pike will replace the 80-year-old Centre Crest in Bellefonte, which has been operated by the nonprofit Centre Care since 2013, when ownership was transitioned from Centre County.

In August, Centre Care was approved for a $34 million direct loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the new facility, with the nonprofit required to raise an additional $6 million. A capital campaign kicked off in November with $3.1 million already committed from community members and foundations.

Board of Commissioners Chair Michael Pipe said that Centre Care approached the county about a contribution and that the $500,000 would come from the county’s year-end budget surplus. County Administrator Margaret Gray said the surplus is expected to be between $750,000 and $900,000.

Since Centre Care began operating Centre Crest, the nursing facility has been in the black each year after operating at a loss under county ownership. Commissioner Steve Dershem noted Centre Care’s financial success among several reasons for his support.

‘They’ve experienced significantly higher reimbursements and saved Centre County government, if we had been operating it at a lower reimbursement, probably $2-to-3 million dollars a year… I think it would be significant to say county taxpayers would have been hit hard over the course of five years,’ Dershem said.

The new nursing facility also will be the largest of only three in Centre County licensed to provide Medicaid care.

‘Looking at the availability of 240 Medicaid beds to provide long-term care to some of our most vulnerable residents, I think the success and future development of Centre Care really is paramount to the conversation that began years ago and that’s making Centre Crest viable well into the future for many generations,’ Dershem said.

Commissioner Mark Higgins added that as Centre Crest has done, Centre Care will provide a critical resource for more older county residents who do not have the personal finances for long-term care.

‘Not everyone retires wealthy,’ Higgins said. ‘You need some assistance at some point and Centre Crest/Centre Care does that. So the commissioners want to help the senior citizens here in Centre County, and if according to our director of finance we potentially have something in the range of half a million dollars available to assist our seniors I’m interested in talking about it in further detail and very seriously considering it.’

Faced with the need for nursing care expected to grow significantly in the coming years, the current Centre Crest building has no space to expand and is often already at capacity. The aging building also would, in the near future, be required to make a number of costly upgrades in the near future, as mandated by the Department of Health.

The new facility will offer more bed and programming space, larger rooms, an increase in the number of private rooms and space to grow in the future. 

It also will offer traditional long-term care along with three specialty care ‘neighborhoods’ that are in high demand: a high acuity neighborhood for patients with complex medical conditions; a memory care neighborhood; and a short-term rehabilitation neighborhood.

Dershem said he believes Centre Care will be a ‘model for the future,’ and that he ‘heartily endorse[s]’ the $500,000 contribution.

‘I think it sends a message to the rest of the county that not only is it a great project, but Centre County government is significantly invested in that expansion,’ he said.

The commissioners will vote on the contribution at their Dec. 27 meeting.

Centre Care expects to break ground on the new facility, located near the former Starlite Drive-In grounds, in the spring.