The financial outlook for the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center continues to improve.

Through May 31, the Butler County-owned nursing home in Butler Township had a net loss of $88,817.

That amount is nearly $28,000 less than the $116,528 budgeted for the first five months of the year.

If the remainder of the year follows suit, the total net loss for 2010 would be around $213,000, which is a significant reduction from previous years.

The 2009 net loss was $562,229. In 2007 and 2008, that number exceeded $1 million in each year.

From solely an operations standpoint, Sunnyview made a profit of $176,000 through May 31. But associated costs, such as building depreciation and county administration costs, push the total number into the red.

The county charges Sunnyview for the services of the personnel office and the county solicitor.

Dr. William DiCuccio, Sunnyview medical director, said Thursday at the nursing home board meeting that adjustments made in recent years reaped financial benefits.

After renovations in 2007, Sunnyview opened a rehabilitation unit, bringing in new business.

This year, the laundry department was outsourced to the state prison in Somerset to save money.

Bill Kepple, Sunnyview fiscal director, estimated the total annual savings from the outsourcing at $268,521.

In addition to saving $181,331 in laundry workers' wages and benefits, another $87,190 is estimated to be saved in utility costs.

"We make money," DiCuccio said. "That's the strength of the changes we made."

County Commissioner Dale Pinkerton, board chairman, agreed the Sunnyview has come a long way.

"It looks good," he said.

The county commissioners earlier this year decided not to sell the nursing home because its deficit is shrinking.