Adams County Commissioner Ty Pell, center, handles the ribbon-cutting duties at Tuesday’s grand opening ceremonies for the new Monarch Meadows facility in Seaman.
Adams County Commissioner Ty Pell, center, handles the ribbon-cutting duties at Tuesday’s grand opening ceremonies for the new Monarch Meadows facility in Seaman.


Facility brings new life to senior living and medical care –

Story and photo by Patricia Beech –

Visitors turned out Tuesday for the long-awaited grand opening of Monarch Meadows next to the Adams County Regional Medical Center in Seaman. The 55,000 square foot facility is typical of a new generation of upscale retirement and nursing homes providing a range of health and senior living options said Scott Sprenger, President of Continuing  Healthcare Solutions.
Sprenger said the lack of high-quality facilities in the state of Ohio motivated his company to move toward nursing/retirement homes that are less like the “institutional tile floor, two-to-three bed wards of the  past”.
“We wanted to take this concept of state-of-the-art facilities with  private rooms and restaurant-style dining and incorporate it into our  campuses to create a homelike environment that provides skilled  nursing, assisted living, and rehabilitation services,” said Sprenger.
Monarch Meadows features 50 spacious private rooms with flat-screen TV’s, WiFi service,and handicapped accessible bathrooms.  Additionally, it offers 12 assisted living suites with 590 square feet of space housing a living room, bedroom, kitchenette, handicap-accessible bath, as well as flat-screen TV and WiFi.  Residents also have access to a theater room, a salon, a game room, a  restaurant-style dining area that seats 50, and several lounge areas with flat screen TV’s, fireplaces, and stylish home-furnishings.
“We are offering these specialized activities and all the amenities that someone who is living here or staying here for skilled nursing could want to make themselves as comfortable as possible,” said  Sprenger.
A number of assisted-living residents will be admitted following the grand opening, but the facility must wait several weeks for state certification.
“Once we have certification we’ll be able to provide services for people whose care is billed to Medicare and Medicaid,” said facility  Director Matthew Smith. “For now, we are licensed to accommodate residents in our beautiful assisted-living suites where they will have their own lounge and meal service, completely separated from the  nursing care unit.”
Following certification 21 residents from the Hillside Nursing Home in Lawshe will be moved to the new facility.
Smith said he expects the number of staff employed at the facility will increase from 50 to 75 or more following certification.
“This is a huge building and we’re going to need more help later on,” he said.
Health care providers at Hillside are preparing for the move which is expected to take place within weeks.
Neita Nicely, Activity Director at Hillside said all the staff is eager for the move to happen. “We’re  very happy with this new facility,” she said. “We only had one activity room at the old place, here we have the game room and the theater room so space will no longer be a problem.”
Adams County Commissioner Paul Worley told those attending the grand opening that  the facility represents the ability for local families to stay close.  “One of Adams County’s greatest strengths is its people, its families,  and having this service will help to keep families close during those  times when they’re dealing with sickness,” Worley said, “It’s an  incredible investment, and we’re all so appreciative.”