New Administrator at the Scotland County Care Center

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By Echo Menges, NEMOnews Media Group

The Scotland County Care Center nursing home has welcomed a new Administrator to oversee operations of the facility. 

“My official first day as the acting Administrator was April 1,” said Tim Schrage, 56, of Edina. “I never really anticipated this. I really hesitated about keeping my Administrator’s License after leaving the Knox County Nursing Home. I made the decision to accept the position because I saw two things I like. That’s good teamwork between the departments, and good leadership from the supervisors. I could see they were working well together and when I saw that I decided – well, let’s see what happens.”

The SCCC is a 96-bed facility. Currently, the facility has approximately 40 residents.

“We have room to grow those numbers and to grow our employees,” said Schrage. “I want to grow both of those. The Scotland County Care Center is a much larger facility than the Knox County Nursing Home. At one time they were licensed to accommodate 125 residents.”

As a licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1999, Schrage oversaw the operations of the KCNH for over 21 years as the KCNH Administrator. He resigned from his position at the end of 2020.

During his tenure at the KCNH, Schrage effectively moved the facility into a sustainable future overseeing a massive remodeling project which upgraded every patient room to a private room, and added many amenities for residents including a new activities room, physical therapy space, and outdoor patio and upgraded employee spaces and dining room.

The KCNH went from a facility barely keeping 30 residents to being full with 40 residents and a waiting list.

Schrage spent his first days at the SCCC getting to know the staff, residents and learning from the last Administrator Valarie Bair.

“It’s kind of a fun time right now because we are getting to see residents go out on family visits and families are coming back for visits. We have infection control procedures in place to keep everyone protected, but we’re a half step closer to a more normal situation,” said Schrage. “We have a pretty high rate of residents that are vaccinated. We have a low level of positivity rates for the county. We are at the green level. If that were to jump up to the red level or certainly if we have one single case with a resident or an employee testing positive we would have to suspend the indoor visit and social outings. We are hoping that doesn’t happen obviously and we are thinking of more ways we can improve the residents’ quality of life.”

Schrage, a Northeast Missouri native, graduated from Knox County High School in 1982 and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Science and Social Work from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1994. He began working with the fledgling Hospice program based in Kirksville the same year helping to launch the program. He was with the Hospice Program until 1999.

“I got pulled into that position and studied and got my license to be the Administrator at the Knox County Nursing Home. When I walked into the doors of the Knox County Nursing Home, it was all new to me,” said Schrage.

Schrage credits the staff at the SCCC for enticing him to remain in nursing home administration.

“No administrator does it all on their own. When I was asking the question, do I want to be a nursing home administrator again, my decision to take the job was not made during the board meeting. It was made after meeting the supervisors, and seeing what a great job they do,” said Schrage. “I’m excited to be here. I like the people I’m working with. They have been helpful to me. I feel very welcomed.”

Tim and his wife Beth were raised in Knox County. They will celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary this summer. They have three children, Brain 29, Brenna 26 and Brandon 23.