HC suspends Hillcrest’s monthly rent for ‘foreseeable future’

Hillcrest Family Services in Mt. Pleasant will receive rent forgiveness from Henry County for the foreseeable future as they scramble to keep their doors open after the Hillcrest board of trustees voted on March 7, to close the mental health facility, citing financial instability.

Henry County Supervisors approved a motion to suspend Hillcrest's monthly rent of $1,200 they pay to lease the county-owned building at 106 North Jackson Street during a meeting on Thursday, April 4.

'Not knowing what other services we could have in the county to help us out, if this helps sustain (Hillcrest) a little longer, I would make the motion we suspend the monthly rent until further notice,” supervisor Marc Lindeen said.

Chris Betsworth, southeast Iowa mental health division director, approached Henry County supervisors during a meeting on March 29, asking supervisors to consider a reduction in rent or rent forgiveness for fiscal year 2020.

Supervisor Gary See said he is in favor of 'giving them a break on rent” and sees it as the county investing in trying to keep the mental health facility in Mt. Pleasant.

Lindeen said that while there are no other mental health providers who pay the county rent right now, it is setting a precedent for the future. However, he said Hillcrest is coming to the county 'because of what has happened to them with the MCOs (managed care organizations).”

'What they are giving us in (return) is not measurable in dollars and cents,” Lindeen said.

Sarah Berndt, coordinator of disability services in Henry County, said Hillcrest continues to work on obtaining grants and other funding to keep their doors open.

'We will know for sure the last week of April,” Berndt said. 'Our hope is to keep them in existence for at least the next year or two and work through some MCO issues creating problems in many areas in the state of Iowa.”

Hillcrest Family Services said they were owed $1.3 million from the MCO AmeriHealth. While AmeriHealth has since then paid them $450,000 as of March, they believed they owned Hillcrest $0.

Betsworth said Hillcrest will not close before July 1.