PEORIA, Ill. — After the Peoria County Board announced last April it would be closing long-term care facility Heddington Oaks, November General Election voters gave approval to sell the property.
However, such a move has yet to be made as the city/county health department has been utilizing the building as a COVID-19 vaccination site.
Peoria City Council District Two representative Chuck Grayeb on Tuesday night suggested the facility not be sold at all, but rather turned into a mental health rehabilitation center.
“Our taxpayers voted rather overwhelmingly to build something that would take the place of the falling-in Bel-Wood Nursing Home,” he said.
“The taxpayers expected that vote to, in essence, provide an augmentation of our social safety net. It would be really a shame if we were to divert the use of Heddington Oaks from anything other than something that would be part of our social safety net.
“I understand, and I’ve heard all the arguments about why it didn’t work for seniors, but I believe it can work for mental health, and should, and I don’t care what hospital or entity is involved in it.”
Peoria County voters in 2003 elected to increase Bel-Wood’s tax rate to $.06 per $100 assessed valuation. The board in 2009 voted to construct what became Heddington Oaks in 2013 to replace Bel-Wood.
“There is a nexus here that’s important to acknowledge. The fact we have not had a vibrant mental health center since Zeller was closed many years ago [in 2002], that we have only a few dozen psychiatric beds, what we’re seeing on the streets — we need to address this issue,” he said.
“I was looking at the Community Development Block Grant funding items, and going through a lot of those, a lot of those issues come down to mental health problems our people are suffering. And a lot of the problems our police department experiences comes down to people who need mental health services.
“If Heddington Oaks is going to be a part of that social safety net, I think that would be a wonderful example of what we can do to promote intergovernmental agreement to ensure we address this.”
City Manager Patrick Urich agreed to communicate with the county board regarding the status of the future of the facility and present a report to city council at its June 22 meeting.
