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The Springfield News-Sun is committed to covering health care, as well as jobs and the economy in Clark and Champaign counties. For this story, the paper wrote about renovations at two historic facilities in the area and a third project that is being proposed on North Bechtle Avenue.
By the numbers
16: Certified assisted living beds after renovation at Springfield Manor
12: Renovated suites at Springfield Manor
94: Employees at Springfield Manor
6: States in which Saber Healthcare operates
A historic Springfield nursing facility is finishing a $100,000 renovation, part of a growing local trend of like facilities that are investing millions of dollars in anticipation of future demand.
The project is one of several upgrades currently taking place at historic facilities in Springfield.
The Springfield Masonic Community broke ground last year on a $15 million renovation and expansion to create 65 new apartments to serve an aging population in the area. And the DMK Development Group, based in Louisville, Ky., recently proposed an $8 million-$12 million project to build a new 100-bed skilled care center on North Bechtle Avenue near the Windy Knoll Golf Course.
In New Carlisle, Vancrest Health Care Centers recently kicked off a roughly $5 million expansion at the Dayview Care Center that will allow it to eventually take in residents from the nearby Belle Manor nursing home, also in New Carlisle. In Urbana, Vancrest also finalized a $1.5 million upgrade at its Urbana facility.
In Springfield, Trilogy Health Services opened the Forest Glen Health Campus in 2007 and has recently added a memory care unit and independent living.
The renovation that adds a dozen assisted living units at Springfield Manor began in July, and could be completed as early as December, said Brandon Webb, administrator of the facility. A grand opening is scheduled for Jan. 12 next year, he added.
Springfield Manor is renovating it second floor to convert existing apartments into assisted living suites, Webb said. Most of the suites are at least 600 square feet, larger than the average in the industry, he added. Along with improvements to the rooms, the floor also includes a nursing station and dining area, as well as new drywall and ceiling tiles, and a door that have been widened to improve wheelchair access.
The transition to a nursing home is often difficult, Webb said, so the extra living space can be an important benefit.
“It’s hard to take your entire life and compact it into one room,” Webb said.
Saber Healthcare Group, the company that operates the facility, moved ahead with the project because it saw a need for additional assisted living spaces in Clark County as its population ages.
According to U.S. Census data, the percentage of Clark County residents 65 and older has increased, while the overall population has fallen. In 2013, seniors represented nearly 18 percent of the county’s population, according to the census.
“It was something we identified as a need and decided to go ahead and pursue it,” Webb said of the renovation.
In addition to the new assisted living units, Springfield Manor also provides a 90-bed skilled nursing facility on its first floor and independent living on its third floor. The assisted living facility also has 16 certified beds, allowing more opportunities for married couples to share an apartment.
Springfield Manor is planning to hire a small number of staff members, but the facility has already received its state license and should be able to move residents into the new apartments soon, Webb said.
The facility will likely hire about 12 nurses, he said. The site now serves about 70 patients in skilled nursing and 14 residents in independent living. There are slightly more than 90 employees at the site.
Saber bought Springfield Manor in 2009, and this is the first major renovation for the facility. However, the company already has plans for a renovation of the first floor as well, although details have not been finalized, Webb said.
Saber started in the Cleveland area in 2001, but has since expanded to 81 facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Indiana and North Carolina. Locally, the company also operated facilities in Woodstock in Champaign County, as well as sites in Dayton, Marysville and Wilmington.
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