In the Pipeline: Kentucky SNF to Break Ground After 8-Year Delay

Kentucky SNF to Break Ground in July After Eight-Year Wait

After an eight-year process that saw legal actions and the death of the project’s champion, the Loveland, Ohio-based Carespring Health Care Management finally has a start date for construction on a skilled nursing facility in the Cincinnati suburb of Boone County, Ky.

Carespring will break ground on a 143-bed SNF on July 11, according to a recent report in the Cincinnati Inquirer, with a planned opening date in fall 2018. The construction kickoff brings a nearly decades-long process in which Carespring faced legal challenges from competitor Baptist Life Communities in both civil court and the state legislature.

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The SNF will specialize in rehabilitation and long-term nursing care, with a staff of 200, the Inquirer reported.

Carespring COO John Muller told the Inquirer that Boone County — located just over the Ohio border, southwest of Cincinnati — has the fastest-growing population of any county in the region, but faces a dearth of skilled nursing beds.

Barry Botz, Carespring’s founder, originally selected the Boone County site, but died in 2016 with the project still uncertain.

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“We are building Barry’s dream,” current Carespring CEO Chris Chirumbolo told the Inquirer. “The best way to honor Barry’s legacy is to complete this long-awaited project.”

Florida City Approves Planned SNF on Hospital Campus

The city of Ocoee, Fla. recently approved a plan to build a four-story, 90,000-square foot skilled nursing facility on the campus of Health Central Hospital, the Orlando Business Journal reported. If built, the facility would feature 70 skilled nursing beds an additional 40-bed memory care area. While representatives from the planned Health Central Skilled Nursing Facility declined to note the number of jobs, the Journal notes that a similarly-sized SNF in the era is slated to bring 150 permanent positions.

Ocoee officials were pleased at the prospect of bringing a SNF to the existing medical campus, and hinted that the project is the first step in developing a larger “medical village.”

“Having this type of facility here is really unique,” city manager Craig Shadrix told the Journal. “This is important in the city of Ocoee with the concept of continuing care with aging, especially with people who want to stay in the community.”

Brandywine Moves Away from SNF in New Jersey

Brandywine Living announced plans this month to convert the skilled nursing wing at its Moorestown, N.J. facility — the only SNF operation in its 28-property portfolio — to a higher-end assisted living facility.

The Mt. Laurel, N.J.-based Brandywine cited strong demand for assisted living units at its other communities in nearby Voorhees and Haddonfield, along with the availability of other sub-acute options in the immediate area, as the primary driver of the switch. The company plans to have the new “Serenade” wing at Brandywine Living at Moorsetown Estates finished by the end of the year.

“We have a waitlist of people and not enough suites,” Brandywine president and CEO Brenda Bacon said in a release announcing the move. “We know the need and desire in the market is there, and we are excited to provide more living options to the seniors of South Jersey.”

The company has already stopped accepting new skilled nursing residents, a Brandywine representative told Skilled Nursing News, though the facility will continue to provide care for current residents during construction.

Written by Alex Spanko

Photo Credit: “Construction Boom” by Bruce Guenter, CC BY 2.0

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