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Construction News
Reconstruction will transform county nursing home
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10/8/2009 by Beth Bily |
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Grand Village, the Itasca County-owned nursing home, will be undergoing substantial change in the coming months.
A $6.9 million construction project will transform the nursing home, which currently has 35 short stay units, 32 beds for dementia care and 86 skilled nursing care beds. The renovations are designed to create a more homelike, less institutional feel, said Jake Goering, Grand Village administrator.
The project includes renovating 30 double occupancy rooms into private rooms, dividing the facility from a large institutional one into five smaller communities, combining two memory care units into one community, improving storage and the adding canopies to provide weather protection for aging persons and definition to each community. Plans also include a number of infrastructure, safety and HVAC improvements.
Itasca County Nursing Home Board Chair Catherine McLynn said the renovation project is in response to consumer demand for more home-like settings. “We’re reflecting the need for more private rooms and less need for double occupancy rooms,” she said.
Itasca County received state exemption from a moratorium on nursing home construction, enabling the project to move forward. The reconstruction will reduce the overall number of beds at the facility.
The bulk of project costs will be financed through the sale of $6.1 million in general obligation bonds, approved by the Itasca County Board of Commissioners in mid-September. Debt will be financed through patient use and will not fall to taxpayers, said the nursing home board chair. Grand Village has two existing long-term debt obligations, a 1998 bond issue of $609,433 and a 2003 bond issue of $4,055,000. Itasca County is obligated to pay the 1998 debt from another fund then levy to repay that fund. The 2003 debt is paid through net revenues of the nursing home.
Residents and their families already have been apprised of the changes in coming months. McLynn said there would be ongoing communication between Grand Village staff and patients and families to ensure questions are answered.
The construction and renovation project is scheduled to begin in November with completion by November of next year.
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