By Ashley McCarty
Alpine House assisted living facility has officially opened its West Union, Ohio location as of Dec. 9.
The assisted living facility moved into the building which once housed the Adams County Hospital. The building was purchased in December of 2017 by S.A.I Group, Inc. of Toledo, Ohio, an affiliate of Alpine House.
Renovations along with the cost of purchase totaled $5.5 million, and started in January of 2018.
“Basically, the whole interior [was renovated]. We did a lot of demolition throughout the building. Practically everything is new. New electric was run, HVAC system, we basically improved everything under the renovation project. Almost the entire building was redone,” said Chief Executive Officer Joe Wells of S.A.I Group, Inc. Only finishing cosmetic touches are left.
The West Union location is currently certified to have 71 rooms with a maximum capacity of 80 residents. The rooms come in three sizes, small, medium and dual-occupancy for married couples, or same-sex siblings.
“Assisted living is exactly what it sounds like. It is not a nursing home, so we will not be accepting residents that require ‘skilled care.’ Residents requiring anything invasive such as IV therapy, lift assistance, or one on one care would not be a good candidate for Assisted Living. If you’re going to put a number to it, each resident would need to be 70-75 percent self-reliant. You are just here because you need help showering, getting dressed, maybe an arm for transferring from the wheelchair to the bed. Just little things like that; maybe you need help taking your medications every day. That kind of thing,” said Facility Manager Phillip Brummett.
The facility assists in daily activities and provides meal support. The staff also provides laundry services once a week, or a more independent resident can do their own.
“Other things we provide are general cleaning, so if you need help cleaning your room, we’ll come clean your room; maintenance of anything that may break in the room that is facility related that’s our responsibility. Another thing that assisted living is required to provide is three activities daily. Now, as the pandemic has adjusted what we can and cannot do, a lot of these things are more in-house, but as things hopefully go back to normal, we’ll be able to go out and do outside activities, or [small trips], things of that nature where we can coordinate transportation for our residents,” said Brummett.
As of right now, these activities will include such things as movie night and various games. These activities will be listed on a calendar monthly and provided to residents.
There will be nursing staff available through business hours to provide support to residents.
“So, someone needs medications provided to them, the nurse goes through and dispenses it to each resident according to their doctor’s orders. It can be different for different people. There are certain medications that can be left at bedside, those people can take their own medications. If it’s something the nurse needs to maintain and keep locked up for safety purposes, that’s when they travel around and provide the medication for them,” said Brummett.
Amenities provided in the facility with the goal of providing a “community feel” include a jacuzzi room, fitness room, theater, activity room and even a salon with an authorized and certified beautician.
“Again, assisted living is not a nursing home. After the pandemic restrictions lessen, then it will be a come and go as you please environment. Residents can have their own vehicles, provided they can drive, and they can come and go,” said Brummett.
A record will be kept as residents leave the facility only for safety purposes.
“Our goal is really trying to provide support for an individual, that’s all it is. These are apartments, in a way of thinking, apartments with permanent staff to give you a hand. One of the differences here versus a nursing home, is that we’re not allowed to come into your room without permission, we have to ask you to come into your room, unless an emergency situation occurs,” said Brummett.
Not even maintenance can come in without the permission of the resident.
“Alpine House in West Union is trying to evolve. Again, we are one of five facilities, but we are going to be the only facility that has multiple aspects to the facility. Right now, we have assisted living. Our next step is to be certified to have a memory care unit. We currently have a hallway that we have designated to be converted to a secured unit — what will happen at that point in time, is that there will be a 20-bed hallway with secured access and delayed egress to assist with any residents with elopement concerns,” said Brummett.
The memory care unit will be a 20-bed and 22 occupant wing, with 51 rooms for assisted living.
“So, that is on the horizon, we are going to start looking into that mid-January after the holidays. Then, another phase that’s going to happen after that, and after the pandemic, is the adult daycare service. So, your mother, your grandmother, they need someone to watch them 24/7, but you have an appointment and no one to watch them; you can coordinate with us, we get everything processed, you can drop them off for a couple of hours and go to your appointment, or maybe it’s even a day, maybe you just need a personal day,” said Brummett.
Also, in the future, a large area in the back of the facility will be contracted out for physical and occupational therapy.
“The idea is that whichever company we contract with will be able to see their patients coming in from the community, which does not interfere with the daily operations here, but, if a resident needs occupational therapy or physical therapy, then they can just walk down the hall and get the care they need,” said Brummett.
Under S.A.I Group is also the in-home care company AmeriCare. An office will be dedicated solely to this entity so that residents can receive any type of care that can be done in an in-home care setting.
“So, if I come back from the hospital, and I have a pressure ulcer to be packed, we have staff from the in-home care that’s able to come over and do that packing, because our care associates are just that; they are not STNAs, they are not CNAs, they are just people who care and love their neighbor and are willing to give them a hand. So, in a nutshell, I would say that’s really what assisted living, and what Alpine House is trying to accomplish,” said Brummett.
Every room in the facility has it’s own independent shower and bathroom equipped with safety rails, as well temperature controls. They will also be equipped with a miniature fridge, wardrobe and – aside from the memory care unit – a microwave.
Each room, dependent on size, has up to three pull-alarms in case of a fall; residents are also provided push-button alarms on their person. An outlet specifically run by back-up generator ensures confidence that in case of an outage, all oxygen machines, CPAP, or other dependent machines will not lose power.
Wi-Fi is included in monthly rent, and each room is equipped with cable hookup, though that is an additional cost. Cable in all common areas is free.
“There’s a business center here where we provide computers for the residents. There are three computer stations back there, so that if someone wants to set up a Skype call, or something along that line, and there are phones throughout the building that are public access, and things of that nature. So, we are trying to build the community feel where you are not dropped off and left. We want that connectivity with family and friends, to be able to go out and do things,” said Brummett.
Alpine House caters to persons 55 and older. The middle of the road cost is $3,500 per month, all inclusive, though persons on Medicaid with an assisted living waiver may pay nothing out of pocket.
According to Brummett, the facility is taking great precaution and following guidelines to ensure the safety of residents, staff and guests during the pandemic.
Persons interested in the facility may contact Central Intake Coordinator Cristine Blevens at 1-866-350-5247 Ext. 2403. An initial phone screening will be performed on potential applicants to rule out extenuating circumstances. Persons will then be directed to alpinehouse.net to print and fill out the pre-admission packet.
“Once that is filled out, then you send it to Cristine, and they will do their screening portion through her office. Once everything is approved, we set up a move-in date, and depending on the situation — if you are a private pay individual, we get your equipment in, put it in your room — before you move in, you have a nurse that will coordinate a pre move in evaluation, they will evaluate you, and set up your plan of care, and then you move in. If you’re Medicaid, Medicaid will provide a certain amount of money for room items and we will discuss what you want in your room,” said Brummett.
Brummett said the intent is a smooth, turn-key process.
“The ultimate goal of Alpine house is to provide the highest quality of care with the best qualified individuals that we can find to come in and provide support for our families and friends. The company is absolutely committed to the highest quality of care and also quality of life. So, again, all of the different things that we’re trying to provide for our residents; meal quality, activity quality, and then really providing the service to those who need it most, because in this area we have very few facilities that are anywhere near this style, so we can reach out to Kentucky, southern Ohio, and provide a safe place for our family to be cared for, but at the same time still have the freedom to live their lives,” said Brummett.
