Renovations Underway, Staffing Help Needed At Medical Care Facility

Renovations at the Houghton County Medical Care Facility are well underway.

Facility Administrator Tammi Lehto gave an update to the county board of commissioners at their regular meeting Tuesday.

Lehto said the project is about 45 percent complete at this time.

Completed areas include the beauty salon, therapy space, community room and the east wing of the first floor nursing unit.

The employee locker room, electrical room and the addition of a trash compactor have also been completed.

Lehto said crews are currently working on half of the first floor wing and garden level space, which is the ground floor with residents’ rooms.

She said the first dining room is expected to be open by the end of the year.

The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of next summer.

The facility continues to be busy during the renovation.

During the first six months of the year, Lehto said they have maintained a 92 percent occupancy with 77 percent of that population on Medicaid.

There have been 101 admissions, 87 percent of those coming from local hospitals.

In that time, 65 people were discharged to their homes.

Lehto added they are experiencing a shortage of RN’s LPN’s and CNA’s and have had difficulty filling those positions.

Qualified applicants are asked to contact the Medical Care Facility.