Rock County will hire a third-party law firm to investigate human resources complaints at Rock Haven.

The county board’s committee that oversees the nursing home voted Thursday to bring in an outside investigator as opposed to following up on the complaints in-house.

A rash of accusations were presented to the board this winter involving bullying, a hostile work environment and poor relationships between workers and administrators.

These complaints and investigations are separate from the county’s mandate for Rock Haven employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

In February, the county board appointed Natalie Rolling-Edlebeck as the new Nursing Home Administrator starting March 22.

The Rock Haven committee also expressed a strong desire to pursue a more thorough review of the nursing home’s operations top to bottom, a process that would be conducted separately from the HR investigations.