Community Offers ‘Care & Rehab’ With Employee Benefit

The Antelope County community showed care and offered a bit of rehabilitation to the employees of Neligh Care & Rehab last week with a benefit event.

After the facility went into receivership last month by the state due to its inability to pay employees, the community quickly stepped up to help. While the state ensured residents would have food and medication, the employees still had to deal with three weeks of no pay.

Melissa Smith and Krista Schindler of Neligh decided to step up and organize a free-will offering meal last Tuesday, along with a silent auction, with all proceeds going to employees. While Smith and Schindler are both community leaders, they also both worked at the facility early in their careers and have a deep commitment to its success.

“I used to work here. This was my first job when I was 16, so this is sentimental, but also if we lost this facility, it would be devastating to our community. We just couldn’t let that happen,” Schindler said.

Elisabeth George said when she first accepted the position as CEO, she interviewed with the management team and was deeply impressed by the commitment and dedication they had for these residents.

“When this happened, I was unsure of how things would take place and what would happen, but I’ve been even more touched by the huge outpouring of the community,” George said. “I’m deeply touched by the incredible community care and the strength of this community.”

Schindler said even without pay, employees still made sure the residents were taken care of, which meant that it was the community’s turn to do the same for the employees. Equally as impressive, George said, was that all residents remained with the facility, proving they trusted the management team and staff to take care of loved ones.

“We have lost a single resident, and all of our staff remains committed and dedicated to taking care of these residents,” George said. “They want the best to happen for these residents. They love this facility and there’s lots of longevity.”

Those who were unable to attend the benefit can still make a donation to assist employees thanks to an account that has been set up at Pinnacle Bank in Neligh.