Plant retiring as County Home administrative secretary

For the past three dozen years, Karen Plant has been a friendly, welcoming face at the Holmes County home, serving as administration secretary.

On Monday, Oct. 7 when the County Home director Deb Miller and Plant met with Holmes County commissioners for their quarterly meeting, there was another person joining them, Carol Bjork.

Miller announced that Plant would be retiring from her longtime duties this month, her final day of service being Oct. 25. Bjork will be replacing her.

“After 36 years, I’m finally allowing Karen to retire for good,” Miller said with a laugh. “Carol is brave enough to step into those shoes, and we are excited to welcome her.”

Commissioner Dave Hall congratulated and commended Plant for her countless hours serving the County Home, its residents, the staff and the community.

“I know you won’t be a stranger because the County Home is like blood in your body,” Hall said. “I know where your heart is, so thank you for your dedication with all of the many residents and people and families who have been a part of the County Home and for the support. It means a lot.”

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” Plant said of her time with the County Home.

The group then got down to the task at hand, which was reporting on the status of the County Home during the past quarter.

Miller said expenses were up about $300,000 year to date, with about two-thirds of that coming from salary and health insurance. She added that they did add some building improvements with renovations to much-needed improvements in the office area.

“We are at about 70% of what we had appropriated for 2024, compared to last year when we were at about 66%,” Miller said. “Considering we are three-quarters of the way through the year, we are in line with what we had appropriated.”

On the plus side of the ledger, Miller said they were up about $70,000, with the largest increase in boarding care, which is up nearly $60,000.

“That is a very, very positive thing,” Miller said.

She said everything is in line with last year’s numbers.

Hall expressed his thoughts on the importance of the levy and how vital it is to the ongoing care and programs the County Home can provide. He noted that he’s heard the number of people inquiring about the home is on the rise.

“There’s still a lot of need out there, and we’ve still been very careful about not bringing too many people in at one time or bringing in too many people with higher levels of care,” Miller said. “We want to make sure we have adequate staffing to meet the needs of our residents. We’re known for our care, so that’s not something we want to sacrifice just to have more numbers.”

Miller said the levy continues to be crucial to their operation.

She then went on to discuss the recent Holmes County Home auction, which she said brought in $287,000 in profit, up almost $27,000 from last year.

She said there were fewer buyers and fewer items, but everyone showed incredible generosity and support for the home and its residents.

While that amount may seem large, all of the proceeds go to the Holmes County Home Auxiliary, which aids in providing needs for the home throughout the year, adding to the quality of life for the residents.

“We’re fortunate to be part of a caring community where the support is so great,” Miller said.

The one thing Miller said was important for people to understand is that the auction dollars are not part of the County Home’s general fund that drives operations.

“That is not our money,” Miller said. “That money is solely for the residents and making the home a home.”

Miller added that she will be attending the County Home Association Conference in November, where she said county home leaders gather to share ideas, struggles and innovations that lead to better care for residents.

“It’s a great opportunity to get together with people from both the certified and noncertified homes throughout the state,” Miller said. “It gives us a chance to talk and it’s always a good experience.”