Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
Just one week shy of six months of progress, the $9.5 million expansion of Pine Crest Nursing Home is rolling along full-steam ahead, as scheduled.
As facility administrator Lisa Gervais explains, her vision at the start of the expansion in October, was for the basic framework of both buildings included in the expansion, to be completed by this point in the project.
As a result of a tour completed by the Merrill Foto News Monday morning, it appears as if Gervais’ vision has come to fruition and then some.
“The walls and roof of Building A are already in place, and the walls of Building B went up two weeks ago. Roof trusses for Building B are being built as we speak; I credit a great winter construction season for the progress we have made,” she explains.
Building A Gervais mentioned will be a future “Special Care” unit, which will serve residents who are in need of more focused one-to-one care. The unit will feature 20 private rooms as well as natural lighting, which will prove to be a key benefit for the well-being and livelihood of future residents, according to Gervais.
While Building A will serve residents in need of long-term care, Building B will serve those in need of more short-term care. As for space in the current facility, existing rooms will be converted into private rooms as well, due to an increasingly high demand.
“Private rooms are the one amenity in the highest demand right now in facilities such as ours,” Gervais adds. “Our goal as always, is to meet and serve the needs of our residents and our community.”
In addition, the expansion of the two buildings totaling over 30,000 square-feet, will provide more overall operational space for facility staff to serve the needs of residents.
As the project enters the home stretch, Gervais hopes for an October completion and for the new additions to be fully operational by early November.
“As with any project, the sooner we are finished building, the sooner we can expand and improve care for our residents and our community,” she adds with a smile.
As approved by the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors in late September, the project will come at zero cost to county tax payers as the full cost of the project will be covered via Medicaid reimbursement formula.