BACKGROUND

On May 1, 2022, St. Johns Retirement Village (SJRV) was officially closed due to the effects of the COVID pandemic as well as certain other management shortcomings that resulted in this decision. During the following months a new group of well known community members made several attempts to take over management of the Village, which at the time the then-existing board was in the process of selling the entire $13,000,000 St. Johns campus to the County of Yolo for $2,950,000. The bulk of the funds that were to be used for this purchase were federal dollars which had been given to the County of Yolo under the ARP (American Recovery Plan).

On May 15, 2023 an email was sent to the three remaining members of the SJRV board, informing them that their new board member, Lynn Sison, elected on October 18, 2022 and subsequently appointed as the Treasurer of St. Johns, had her state license permanently revoked on October 23, 2019 by the California Department of Social Services (DSS) thereby prohibiting Ms. Sison from having any involvement in a licensed senior care facility in the State of California. These board members resigned on June 1, 2023, simultaneously turning over the control of SJRV to a new board consisting of Chuck Santoni, Bob Nakken, Peter Faye, Debbie Bruno, Tom Muller, Dan Parrish and Stan Levers.

NEW BOARD

Upon taking over control of the SJRV campus, the new board was immediately faced with the following challenges:

• No significant cash on hand
• Accounting system in complete disarray
• Audited yearend financial statements not prepared for ’21 and ’22 
• No property or general liability insurance in place
• Voluntary, unnecessary relinquishment of the RCFE license to DSS
• Significant trade accounts and professional fees unpaid and overdue
• Chase Bank loan in default in the amount of $174,000
• EDD unemployment claims unpaid for $170,000
• Campus buildings in disrepair and in some cases the interiors taken apart
• Zero cash flow
• Campus closed, compromised security

During the past year since taking over management of SJRV by the new board on 6/1/23, the following has been accomplished

• Working capital funding in the amount of $900,000 has been raised from private donations and USG employee retention refunds. In addition, a $92,000 donation was received from Woodland’s LifePointe Church on February 14, 2024.
• The former CFO was brought on board as well as outside accountants and support staff to resolve accounting issues
• The FYE 9/30/21 audited statement draft was completed with the final statement now in process, following which ’22 and ’23 will be prepared shortly thereafter.
• New D&O as well as casualty insurance are now in place, with GL insurance in the final stages of issuance
• Overdue trade payables addressed
• Chase Bank loan now current with a six month interest only forbearance agreement established in April ‘24
• EDD claim now current with a six month interest only forbearance agreement established in April ‘24
• Significant campus cleanup accomplished, primarily from community volunteers, as well as extensive refurbishment underway for the cottages and apartments.
• A new campus rental program is scheduled to open in early August, which for the first time since campus closure will begin generating regular monthly cash flow.
• Interim staff now on campus full time with future management and support staff ready to come on board as soon as new funding is secured to cover the costs of reopening the campus.
• Woodland PD K-9 division training dogs at night on sight, other Woodland PD check the campus on a regular basis
• A new security fence is planned for the northern border of the campus as well as resurfacing all the asphalt drives and parking areas.

REOPENING TIME LINE

Before even considering reopening any portion of the Village, the issues first noted above had to be addressed. Having done so, the next phase involves not only the actual reopening of the campus buildings, staffing, licensing, etc., but additionally the establishment of a logical time line which can be followed as a guide in step-by-step sequence.

It should be noted that eventually reopening St. Johns as a licensed facility involves the California Department of Social Services issuing a new RCFE license (Residential Care Facility for the Elderly). This license covers the policy, regulations and protocols that must be followed to operate a senior care facility that provides medical services to its residents. In order to apply for such a license, the facility’s applicant must demonstrate to the DSS that (a.) the facility is in acceptable operating condition per state requirements, (b.), a written plan has been prepared to cover all the various components required to operate an RCFE facility, (c.) verification that SJRV has or will have adequate working capital reserves, and (d.) the applicant representative is certified to make such an application. 

Given the above as well as other issues involving reopening of the St. Johns campus, the following plan has been developed as a time line which will be followed in this process.

1. Renting Apartments and Initial Cottages

The first step which is scheduled to begin in early August, 2024 is the renting of apartments and cottages on a tenant only basis. No state license is required and there will be no medical services available to tenants. Campus renovations have been ongoing to prepare for tenant rentals. Lawson Property Management (LPM) has been engaged to manage the details of this program. Ready to eat meals (dinner) will be provided by Meals on Wheels. Each unit will have either a kitchenette including refrigerator, microwave and sink, or a full kitchen. No hot plates will be allowed. Tenants must be minimum 65 years of age and qualify under a vetting process that includes both LPM and SJRV review/approval. The rental term will be for one year, with occupancy thereafter to be on a month to month basis. Currently there are 14 apartments and 22 partial cottage units ready to move into. 

Calls are being received daily from community members wanting to move onto the campus as soon as the Village is ready to receive new tenants. Currently there are more than 30 people on the waiting list. Leona Blickle is coordinating preregistration of those interested in renting an apartment or cottage. She can be reached at 530-312-4544.

2. Rebuild cottage units and personal care unit

The personal care unit (PCU) consisting of 32 beds, as well as 7 partial cottage units, are in need of significant refurbishment. Once the above initial rentals are occupied and the funding campaign described below has been accomplished, the PCU and 7 studio cottage units will be refurbished. Time line to complete this phase, subject to the funding campaign, is estimated to be by the end of this calendar year.

3. RCFE licensing

Once all the cottages and apartments are in operating condition and the PCU has been completely refurbished, SJRV will proceed with application of its new RCFE license. The initial license application will include the above as well as the administration building, dining/activity area, commercial kitchen, library and chapel. Under DSS licensing guidelines, partial licensing of the campus is allowed. What will not be included in the application at this time are the dementia care manors as well as Stollwood Convalescent Hospital.

Assuming the licensing procedure will take approximately 6 months to complete, the next target date will be July 1, 2025. By this point, the campus will open under its new RCFE license, fully staffed and with adequate working capital reserves in place. Concurrently with this opening, the cottages and apartments will be converted from tenant occupancy to RCFE independent living, allowing for medical services to be available to these residents.

4. Dementia manors

The two dementia care manors, each consisting of 16 rooms, will require refurbishing. Refurbishment of the East Manor will be minimal although the West Manor was significantly dismantled by prior management and will require extensive repair. To completely refurbish these two units will take an estimated 6 months. Upon completion of this renovation, SJRV will apply to DSS for the addition of these units to its RCFE license. Upon approval of this additional licensing authority, the entire reopened campus (other than Stollwood) plans to be in full operation by the end of 2025.

5. Stollwood Convalescent Hospital and long term sustainability

Although previously Stollwood was an important part of the services that St. Johns could provide to the community, given the age of the building, current building codes and regulatory requirements, it is not financially feasible to renovate this building as a hospital. A possible alternative use of this building currently under consideration is to convert Stollwood to a lower level of personal care.

Several years ago discussions were underway with UCD School of Medicine and UCD Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing to create a new geriatric training program which would operate on the SJRV campus. This project, California Geriatric Institute, would include a teaching hospital for UCD Med students as well as a new convalescent hospital to serve residents of SJRV as well as others in need of convalescent care. This long term goal is now back in discussion, with a SJRV board that fully supports this strategic long term collaboration with UCD Med.

FUNDING

In conjunction with the opening of the rental units described in (1.) above, SJRV is launching two fund raising drives.

Linda Henigan is organizing a community funding drive to raise $1 M in new working capital. These funds are needed to cover the costs to refurbish units that are now ready for rent, as well as general campus cleanup and ongoing operating costs. The details of this drive are attached to this memorandum.

Separate from this drive, donors who would consider larger donations to cover specific expenditures such as refurbishment of the PCU, Dementia Manors, security fencing, asphalt resurfacing, roof repair, payoff of the Chase loan / EDD, etc., are encouraged to contact either Linda or myself to discuss these needs in further detail.

Linda Henigan (530) 383-6535 / lindamayhenigan@gmail.com

Stan Levers (530) 304-1550 / slevers@pacbell.net

The long term goal over time is to raise at total of $5 M which will cover not only the reopening of SJRV and continued operations until it becomes cash positive, but will further provide sufficient working capital reserves which are crucial to the long term sustainability of St. Johns.

Over the past two years several attempts have been made to engage the County of Yolo in supporting St. Johns by providing a portion of the $43,000,000 it held in ARP funds. Our most recent meeting with county staff was held on June 5. At that meeting county staff advised that all the ARP funds had been committed to other projects and none were available for St. Johns. If there was ever a case for the proper use of ARP funds, with the intent of this program being to assist individuals and companies in recovering from the impact of COVID, surely a non-profit residential care facility for the elderly which has served our community for over the past 55 years would certainly have justified financial support per ARP guidelines. Instead, the County of Yolo intended to use their ARP funds to purchase the SJRV campus at a significant discount. 

Given the lack of any financial assistance from the County of Yolo, support for the reopening of St. Johns, which is owned by everyone as a charitable trust, must come from our community as it has since its inception almost 60 years ago.

SUMMARY

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2015), the projected portion of the U.S. population in 2050 over 65 years of age will be 88 million. Over the course of that period, the population in this age group will approximately double from the 2015 level of 47.8 million.

As our population lives longer, there is no question that senior health care will be a growing need in the future. Although home care for some is an option, 24/7 residential care such as provided by SJRV will be in significant increased demand. The outpouring of community support we have received over this past year has been overwhelming. There is no question that our community strongly supports the reopening of St. Johns as the only non-profit senior residential care facility in our area. Your financial support will be welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Stan Levers