News & Events

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Residents of Fairhaven Senior Services and appropriate family members were notified this past week that the organization is closing its second floor skilled nursing unit, and consequently will no longer hold a license as a skilled nursing facility, sometimes known as a nursing home. Paul Kuenning, President/CEO of Fairhaven, shared his letter with the Banner, indicating that the decision that was made by the board of directors was not made lightly. Input was received from market analysis and industry consultants. “Over the past year the Board has continually reviewed the ongoing challenges with workforce shortages, inadequate reimbursement, and higher costs of operations and compliance, and has concluded that Fairhaven can no longer sustain skilled nursing services. This decision, though hard, will help ensure Fairhaven’s long-term viability and its ability to continue its mission to provide for God’s older children,” Kuenning stated.

Fairhaven’s decision is part of an increasing trend in the nation and Wisconsin in particular. Beginning even prior to the pandemic, driven by reimbursement, regulatory and staffing challenges, together with changing consumer preferences, the census in skilled nursing facilities has been declining while assisted living capacity and residency has steadily increased. According to a 2017 article in the Wisconsin State Journal, the state had nearly 4,200 assisted living facilities with room for 59,000 residents, compared to about 400 nursing homes with roughly 33,000 beds. By contrast, according to the article, until 2008, beds in nursing homes outnumbered those in assisted living. COVID-19 exacerbated the challenges for senior residences in general, with a high number of virus-related resident deaths occurring in many facilities, and increasing difficulties with recruiting and retaining staff.

According to Kuenning’s letter, “Since 2016, over 50 nursing homes in Wisconsin have made the difficult decision to close due to the ongoing pressures of workforce shortages and government reimbursement. Furthermore, according to data from LeadingAge Wisconsin, since March of 2020, over 2,666 nursing home beds have been delicensed.”

Kuenning continued, “Under current regulations Fairhaven will continue to care for many of our current skilled nursing patients, under a stepped-up assisted living plan and licensure as a Community Based Residential Facility. In addition, our Director of Nursing has estimated that we will be able to provide 80-85% of the care which was provided in skilled nursing to Fairhaven residents on assisted living floors and in apartments. To better accommodate this change, we plan to renovate 3rd and 4th floors to assisted living apartments and transition the skilled nursing floor into additional assisted living apartments with options for higher care levels.” He told the Banner that physical, occupational, and speech therapy services will continue to be provided.

“Fairhaven is working closely with the State Relocation Team to ensure a careful transition of skilled nursing residents to appropriate settings. Assessments of our current skilled nursing residents will be done by our nursing staff and support agencies to determine each individual’s needs in order to assure proper placement for future care. Throughout this process we will assure that all care needs are met, residents’ rights are protected, and resident centered care is maintained,” Kuenning stated.

Kuenning concluded, “At Fairhaven we will continue our mission and serve our residents in the apartments, assisted living, Hearthstone Memory Care, and duplex homes at Prairie Village. Fairhaven has served our community for sixty years, and we look forward to continuing our mission to provide quality services and care for our residents and our community.”

Join Whitewater High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition Team Ferradermis and FIRST Lego League students and mentors representing the teams from Washington, Lincoln, Lakeview, and Whitewater Middle School on Saturday, February 11 for an Open House at Whitewater High School. Stop in anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to visit with students and see this year’s projects and robots. Visitors should enter the school through Door #38 at the high school, which is between the back of the auditorium and the overhead auto shop doors. Parking is available in the lot next to the JV baseball field, but anyone with accessibility needs may drive right up to the door.

The Open House will take place during a regular Saturday workday for the high school team. Ferradermis members will take visitors on a guided tour of their workspace and the school shop, and visitors will have a chance to speak with representatives of the mechanical, electrical, programming, competition logistics, CAD, and administrative subteams as well as see the 2022 and currently under construction 2023 robot. Representatives of the FLL teams will be demonstrating their robots and sharing their innovation projects which relate to this year’s energy-themed game.

In addition, Ferradermis will have various themed gift baskets available for visitors to bid on as a fundraiser for the team. The team will also have Kwik Trip gift cards for sale as part of an ongoing fundraiser. Gift cards can be purchased at face value, and the team will be able to keep a portion of the money collected.

Article Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor and Banner Volunteer
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

Join the WHS Players for Agatha Christie’s, “A Murder is Announced,” February 23 – 25 at 7:00 p.m. or February 26 at 2:00 p.m. in the WHS Auditorium.

Tickets are $7 per student and $10 per adult. Reserve your general admission tickets by calling the box office at 262-472-8178.

Article Submitted by Jim McCulloch
WUSD Theater Director
jmcculloch@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Tom Ganser

The UW-W Department of Music invites the community to join faculty members and guest artist Anna Hersey for an evening of Scandinavian music on Saturday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. This program features repertoire for voice and piano by Scandinavian composers including Elfrida Andrée, Edvard Grieg, Agathe Backer Grøndahl, Ture Rangström, and Sigurd von Koch. Performers include Karen Boe, piano; guest artist Anna Hersey, soprano; Brian Leeper, baritone; and Rachel Wood, mezzo-soprano. All proceeds from this and other concerts in the Music Mosaics series go directly towards scholarships for Department of Music students. 

The venue for this event is the Light Recital Hall in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, located at 950 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. Tickets are available in advance and can be purchased online at tickets.uww.edu or by calling (262) 472-2222. Admission is $14 for adults, $12 for those age 65+, and $8 for under age 18. There is a $2 surcharge if purchased at the door at the time of the event.     

A free weekly drawing class is getting under way Thursday, Feb. 2, at Wisconsin Makers in Whitewater. Taught by Mike Alvarez of Whitewater, the class will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Wisconsin Makers, 200 E. Clay St. Interested area residents of all ages are welcome to attend.

The class is the first activity set by the newly formed Whitewater Art Club at the makerspace. “This club is for people interested in arts and crafts in general, from drawing and painting to paper art, pottery, woodcarving and pretty much anything art-related,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez is the owner of Handy Mike LLC, a handyman service. He particularly enjoys drawing, painting, woodcarving, woodworking and pottery. He eventually plans to hold classes in those subjects, as well. “I want to integrate every part of the community, from the seniors to the little kids, so everyone can come and participate,” he said. Being bilingual, Alvarez hopes to generate interest from the Latino community, as well.

Club members need not join Wisconsin Makers to participate. However, donations toward paying utilities would be greatly appreciated.

Wisconsin Makers is a makerspace that creates an affordable, collaborative and educational environment that inspires people of all ages to becoming innovators within their communities by unlocking their skills through continual training. It has members from Jefferson, Walworth, Rock and Waukesha counties and beyond, and all have access to the workshops around the clock. The facility houses machine, welding/fabrication, electronics, automotive, 3-D printing, laser engraving and woodworking shops. It also offers pottery, ceramics, metal art, quilting, fabric arts, matting/framing and more. The building is accessible and has off-street parking, WiFi, and many other amenities.

For more information about the makerspace, contact Chris Spangler at (920) 728-2960.

For more information about the drawing class, contact Alvarez at (920) 397-1022 or whitewaterartclub@gmail.com.