While many senior living operators work together with hospital systems on a resident referral basis, one provider is taking the relationship a step further by bringing some hospital services on site through a collaboration that is three years in the making.
St. Paul, Minnesota-based Presbyterian Homes & Services (PHS) is preparing to develop a new $41.8 million senior housing community on land adjacent to Hudson Hospitals & Clinic in Hudson, Wisconsin in what it sees an an emerging opportunity to assist seniors as they move from institutionalized care to more residential care settings.
“Partnerships and delivery of services revolve around how we collaborate together to optimize the customer’s experience,” Dan Lindh, president and CEO of PHS, told SHN in an interview.
Though still in the conceptual stage, the project is currently awaiting approval from the Hudson City Council. Pending approval, development plans call for 160 senior apartments, assisted living and memory care residences as well as an array of amenities.
PHS’s senior housing element, however, is only phase II of construction. The first phase will see to the development of a medical suite for DaVita dialysis clinic that will offer 12 chronic dialysis stations and two home training rooms.
As a number of PHS residents deal with renal failure, the idea of having a nearby dialysis clinic became a critical component to the collaboration and identifying the specific needs of this customer base, Lindh said.
“The focus groups had very positive responses from both families and residents with renal concerns,” he said. “Market research would indicate that there’s a segment that has this need.”
PHS has been actively serving older adults in the St. Croix Valley, an area near the borders of Wisconsin and Minnesota—the City of Hudson lying approximately 20 miles east of St. Paul, MN.
A non-profit, faith-based organization, PHS provides housing and care for more than 24,000 seniors through 40 PHS-affiliated senior living communities in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The company also provides home and community services via its Optage division.
The senior living provider has similar collaborations with other health systems through its work with HealthPartners, a non-profit HMO based in Minnesota that owns and manages Hudson Hospitals & Clinic.
Currently, PHS collaborates with Westfield Hospital in New Richmond, WI via its assisted living and memory care community The Deerfield, as well as with Lakeview Hospital in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, via its Boutwells Landing community.
For Hudson Hospitals, aligning with PHS just seemed like a “natural fit,” said Marian Furlong, CEO of Hudson Hospitals & Clinic.
“This collaboration is a unique opportunity to meet patient needs in a way that perhaps hasn’t been met in the past,” Furlong said. “Hudson Hospitals & Clinic has always been thoughtful about our senior strategy, so it was interesting to partner with someone like Presbyterian Homes & Services.”
Pending approvals, construction is anticipated to begin in June. Developers expect the DaVita portion of the project will open in Fall 2014.
Written by Jason Oliva
Companies featured in this article:
DaVita, Hudson Hospitals & Clinic, Presbyterian Homes & Services
