DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom announced Monday that he has appointed a panel to examine the future of the county’s Convalescent Center.

The panel will make recommendations for the future of the Convalescent Center as well as the short- and long-term needs of senior citizens in the county. Schillerstrom announced in October during his annual budget address to the County Board that he would convene a panel to study these issues.

The chairman said he looked outside government when considering who to appoint because he wants the panel to “take an independent look” at the Convalescent Center’s operations.

“I tried to make it kind of a diverse group,” Schillerstrom said. “One of the nice things about a diverse group is that you get a wide variety views.”

The Convalescent Center has provided long-term medical and short-term rehabilitative care to residents since opening its doors in 1888. The county’s budget cuts since 2003 have led to cutbacks at the center, including the termination of 20 employees in 2007.

Schillerstrom said he wants the panel to consider changes that can be made to the center’s operations — including privatization — to ensure its services continue to be available to residents of the county. He hopes to have the panel’s recommendations by summer.

One panel member said he will come to the table without any preconceived notions about the issues facing the Convalescent Center or how to fix them.

“What I hope to do as a concerned citizen (is) help our community look at a very complex problem and come to a long-term solution that considers all the factors involved,” said Dick Endress, president of the DuPage Health Coalition, a group dedicated to expanding the county’s “health safety net.”

Endress said he looks forward to learning the center’s mission and studying the issues facing it objectively and with an open mind.

Beth Welch, administrator of the Convalescent Center, said there are numerous issues facing the facility that cannot be easily summarized. She looks forward to meeting with the panel and providing it with a “host of information” about the center’s history, the services it provides, its finances and the range of patients who receive care, she said.

The panel will provide a “broad range of knowledge and perspective,” Welch said.

“At 120 years, it’s always a good idea to take a look back and a look forward to see if we’re on the right track with the services we provide,” she said, noting the center’s upcoming anniversary.