CLAREMONT — A proposed $35 million renovation of the nursing home facilities at the county complex would include more space for residents and visitors, Sullivan County officials told the City Council.
Sullivan County Director of Facilities and Operations Mary Bourque went through a slide presentation Wednesday on the renovation, which could begin next June, explaining the need to address deferred maintenance and improve the living environment for residents of the 156-bed facility in Unity.
The plan calls for the demolition of the 1931 Sanders building, the first one built at the complex to house nursing home residents; renovations to the 1975 Stearns building and 1997 McConnell building; and an addition onto McConnell.
Once complete, possibly in June 2023, each room for two residents would be larger, with two windows and a shared bathroom with a walk-in shower, Bourque said. Currently, residents are brought down a hallway past other residents and staff for showering or bathing.
“This will add privacy and dignity for the residents,” Bourque said after the presentation, which was presented to the Council as an informational courtesy.
Each room also will have more space for personal effects and visitors.
Consumer expectations for nursing care facilities have changed over the years and these upgrades will reflect those new expectations, Bourque said.
“The changes will be resident-centered to improve the quality of life,” Bourque said. “The room design meets a lot of the required specifications in the guidelines for residential life.”
Bourque also said the upgrades will lead to a more efficient operation, with nurses closer to the residents, along with lower costs for laundry, housekeeping and dietary needs.
“We do foresee a significant amount of savings in energy and operational costs,” she said.
The upgrades will address much of the deferred maintenance on the buildings. Bourque said many of the systems in the buildings have reached the end of their life span.
The facility wants to change the mix of the population to add more private-pay patients and those in physical rehabilitation, which should improve revenue, county officials said.
Of the 156 beds, 136 are occupied. Jeff Barrette, chairman of the County Commissioners, said the beds are licensed by the state and the total number won’t change with the renovations.
Another change once the renovations are complete will be to move the offices of the county manager and commissioners from downtown Newport to the county complex in Unity. This move will free up more space for the Sheriff Department in Newport, Bourque said.
Currently, the county is about halfway through the design and preconstruction work, which Bourque said should be completed early in 2020.
The construction manager they have been working with will then begin bidding the subcontracted work.
County Manager Derek Ferland said at this time they project a nearly $2 million annual debt payment on a 25-year note with 3% interest but he said Wednesday night that the county should be able to make the payment without raising taxes.
About $681,000 will be freed up after the county makes its final annual debt payment for the community corrections center in 2020. The remainder will come from an estimated $2.4 million in revenue each year from the federal government under what is called the “ProShare arrangement.”
ProShare payments are defined as the difference between Medicaid reimbursement and what Medicare would have paid. Medicaid has a lower reimbursement rate and most of the Sullivan County nursing home residents are on Medicaid.
“We have been assured that will go forward,” said Ted Purdy, nursing home director in Unity.
Bourque also told the council that plans for construction focus on reducing impact on residents as much as possible.
She said the demolition of the Sanders building and the new addition will be done first and when that is complete, they will be able to move residents there. Since the facility is not at capacity, they can work in areas with no residents, which creates minimal disruption.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
