A Pennsylvania continuing care retirement community is repositioning its community with a new design model that’s inspired by a home-like environment for the residents who live there.
The “household model,” implemented with the help of architecture firm Perkins Eastman, will create four different households within the 130-bed Presbyterian Senior Living St. Andrew’s Village in an effort to meet the needs of CCRC residents of the future, the community’s executive director says.
“We’re creating four households that are smaller, more home like with community life designed around the kitchen and living area—like our own houses,” says Brian Parks, executive director of the community.
The $10 million repositioning is under way and is expected to be completed within an 18-24 month time frame. Financing is being provided through tax exempt bonds with addition fundraising plans closer to completion of the project that will work toward exterior features such as outdoor spaces for residents.
The repositioning is largely in response to shifting consumer demands, with many potential residents seeking more flexibility and more amenities.
“We’re seeing expectations change,” Parks says. “Consumers have started to ask for different things: more flexible dining, different services and amenities, transportation and features that are more consumer-related.”
In order to better meet the needs of incoming patients requiring short-term care, St. Andrew’s Village is reducing the size of its nursing care and rehabilitation center. To better meet the needs of residents requiring memory support, the community is making that household smaller and more intimate.
Because of increased demand for long term nursing care, St. Andrew’s has opted to expand the overall number of nursing beds, creating two distinct households to better serve the long-term care population.
It has also partnered with Masterpiece Living toward a cultural initiative that promotes successful aging, resident engagement and a more active community lifestyle. In addition to a complete renovation of the entire healthcare center, the community is reinventing the way it provides care and service through household meetings, resident self-governance, universal workers, and more flexible scheduling and resident-centered living.
That includes residents of each household working together toward common initiatives such as outings and invitations.
“The residents of the households plan their own community life,” Parks says, noting a recent unit trip to a winery and another to a football game. “They initiate and plan events, and then invite people from other parts of the campus to their “home” to enjoy the event. There’s a sense of hospitality and engagement—the same as when we would invite people to our own home.”
Written by Elizabeth Ecker