October 27 was the final meeting for Alvin Docter as a member of the Department of Health and Human Services/Oceana County Medical Care Facility (OCMCF) Board. His vacancy will be filled by Linda East, who was recently appointed by the Oceana County Board of Commissioners.
Looking back on over a decade of service, Docter said, “I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and I’ve worked with a lot of great people, a lot of great directors, administrators - everyone brings a unique talent to the job, and it’s been really interesting.”
To his remaining board members and the OCMCF administration, he encouraged them to “continue on, we have to do what’s right. Think of why we’re here - it's to provide service to our residents.”
Of greatest concern at the meeting were operational issues at the OCMCF, presented by Administrator Kurt Sapp, who described maintenance work and union contract negotiations to be well underway.
Operations Engineer at the OCMCF Eric Strait presented the current issues facing a Lochinvar Heat Exchanger unit at the Memory Care wing, which was found to be cracked beyond repair. Water quality testing has revealed the water at the OCMCF to be hard and mineral-filled, leading to contamination, corrosion and a breakdown of the system. Strait explained that this is not the first time a heat exchanger has failed at the facility and that previous malfunctions were likely due to the water quality.
In order to mitigate the likelihood of replacement in the near future, Strait explained the precautions being taken at the recommendation of Lochinvar’s team. This includes quarterly inspections of the system, as well as continued water samples to better understand what cocktail of chemicals may best neutralize the water contamination.
The board unanimously approved replacing the heat exchanger for the amount of $13,950.
Discussion of operations continued beyond the water exchanger to the inefficiencies of the HVAC systems located at the back of the facility. At peak summer temperatures, Strait recorded seeing temperatures cooling by only 20 degrees in the building.
The HVAC service provider recommended replacing the current units with larger systems, which would have increased functionality and efficiency. The fact that these recommendations came from the system-providing companies gave Board Chair Larry VanSickle pause, “I’m just a little bit suspicious at recommending something when they have a financial gain by selling the equipment to correct it.”
VanSickle and the rest of the board recommended that Strait bring in a third-party mechanical engineer before making a decision to replace the systems, a replacement that would be a significant financial burden.
Another discussion sprang from the fact that the boiler is not turned off completely in the summer months, at the recommendation of the provider, which drew questions from board member Dale Danes. Danes had managed OCMCF operations prior to Strait and said that, despite also receiving the same recommendation to keep the boiler operational throughout the year, he never had an issue with shutting the system down for 90 days during the summer.
Also presented was the monthly financial report. September saw a net loss of $62,434, which in turn produced a negative monthly budget of $45,408. In other, more positive, news, the financial report noted a gross resident revenue of $1,435,467, which was over $100,000 more than what was expected for the month. Overall, the OCMCF is seeing a net loss of $150,785 for 2025 thus far.
At public comment, Tara Bateson, an RN at the facility, invited board members to attend the meetings for ongoing negotiations between OCMCF and the nurses’ union.
Following public comment, VanSickle presented frustrations he’d had with OCMCF employees and the liaison to the Commissioner’s Board, Paul Erickson. Of OCMCF employees, VanSickle said, “I think there’s a lot of contact between employees and Mr. Erickson. None of the employees work for the Board of Commissioners… so they should not rely on contact with the Board of Commissioners for their livelihood.”
“If, in fact, they don’t like where they’re working, they can hit the d--- door and work someplace else. And if they continually want to bring in [Commissioner] Board Members on what’s going on, then they should be dealt with insubordination.”
Regarding how such perceived insubordination should be dealt with, VanSickle said, “I’m old-school, and if you’re continually going to stab your employer in the back, then you need to find another job.”
Danes wished for the record to show that he “does not share that opinion… I think the employees are very important in that facility, and happy employees give good care… and make our residents of the community and surrounding communities happy.”
Of employees with legitimate complaints who are unsatisfied with the OCMCF actions, Danes believes, “in every other entity, you go up the ladder until you either find a dead end or you get results.”
