WOODVIEW GETS 5 STARS!
January 3, 2009 from IndyStar.com
The new rating system by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) aims to help residents and their families easily compare various qualities of nursing homes and make meaningful distinctions between high- and low-performing nursing homes. The ratings are taken from three sources of data: health inspections, staffing and quality of care measures. Nursing homes can receive one to five stars in each category, with five being the best rating. Then the three ratings are combined to calculate an overall quality rating.
5 Much above average
4 Above average
3 Average
2 Below average
1 Much below average
Of the 23 providers listed in the Stars report, only Woodview had FIVE stars! We congratulate our founders, our staff and our residents.
WOODVIEW TO OPEN JUNE, 2008
February 12, 2008
Woodview, Fort Wayne’s newest assisted living facility, is scheduled to open this June. Located just six blocks east of Parkview Hospital, Woodview is very central to all parts of the medical community, so residents will have easy access to imaging centers, doctors and clinics. They will also be close to churches, the bus line, shopping and entertainment, although there’s a host of entertainment at Woodview. The sparkling facility features a billiard and game room, a full service salon, an office/library with computer terminals, walking trails, a flower-cutting garden and regular low-impact exercise programs. In addition to the three restaurant-style meals daily, residents will also have access to a staff chef who will fill orders throughout the day.
Woodview has 57 apartments, divided into studio and one-bedroom floor plans, some of which are ADA compatible and all of which are nearly 100 square feet larger than other assisted living units in the market. Each apartment features a large bay window and the third-floor units have vaulted ceilings.
Woodview residents may have pets and are also eligible to sign up for a variety of activities, including social programs, physician visits, and daily bus service.
THE FORT WAYNE JOURNAL GAZETTE
When John August and a partner bought what was then Glenacres Nursing Home in 1981, it had 65 beds and a cafeteria so small residents had to eat in shifts – or their rooms.
Long since renamed Woodview Health Care, the facility at 3420 E. State Blvd. has expanded its size and services several times, adding another 49 beds in the process.
But the biggest improvement is yet to come, August said.
If all goes as planned, Woodview’s $6 million, 57-unit assisted-living center should open next door about a year from now – an addition that will reflect changes in the nursing-home business, and August’s determination to keep abreast of those changes.
“People are living longer, but many don’t eat right or take their medications correctly,” August said. Assisted-living centers address those and other needs, providing various levels of food service, medical care, grooming help and other assistance to seniors who don’t need the full range of services that traditional nursing homes provide.
As residents’ needs for such services increase, they will be able to move into Woodview’s nursing center, which also provides rehabilitation and therapy services for temporary and permanent residents.
August, now sole owner and administrator of the nursing home, would partner with an Indianapolis investor on the assisted-living project.
If the city approves a tax abatement on the project, construction of the three-story, 56,200 square foot addition could start this summer. Abatements temporarily reduce the property taxes that business owners pay on new equipment or physical improvements. The new facility could create as many as 30 new jobs.
The project got a boost last year when the state announced that people needing long-term care who qualify for Medicaid could choose assisted-living centers. Previously, only nursing-home care was an option.
Although the long-term presence of nearby Parkview Memorial Hospital is uncertain, August said Woodview’s viability should be unaffected even if the hospital moves most operations to its “north” campus off Interstate 69.
“I’m not concerned. People like living in the city,” he said.
THE FORT WAYNE JOURNAL GAZETTE
Somewhere between taking care of yourself and someone else doing it is assisted living.
Woodview Healthcare, Inc. of Fort Wayne has provided nursing home care for 25 years. Because some seniors need less supervision, Woodview administrator John August said the company plans to build a 56-unit assisted-living complex on about five acres adjacent to its nursing home at 3420 E. State Blvd. on the city’s northeast side.
“I think you are going to see in the future with the up-and-coming aging of people, they want more assisted living,” August said.
He expects the three-story, 56,200 square foot complex to cost about $5 million and create 20 jobs. Construction could begin this fall if the Fort Wayne Boards of Zoning Appeals rules the building can be taller than the city would normally allow. The complex would occupy land long owned by Woodview and rented to a trailer home park. It is now home to a vacant restaurant.
“What we are doing is going to be a (big) improvement for the area,” August said.
Assisted living is for seniors needing limited help with ordinary tasks or requiring emergency care in case of a fall. Typically, a nursing home employs nurses for 24/7 care and staff to accommodate a resident’s every need.
August said the complex would offer apartment-style living with mostly one-bedroom and a few studio living spaces. Several courtyards, along with an exercise area, would dot the property. While the nursing home would be attached to the assisted-living complex, a caveat that also needs the board’s approval, there would be no interaction and movement between the two.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced in June that people needing long-term care who qualify for Medicaid have assisted-living, adult day care and adult foster care as options at their disposal. Previously, only nursing home care was an option. The change could open new markets for facilities such as the one proposed by Woodview, said Dennis Rosebrough, FSSA spokesman.
“What we have done is leveled the playing field in terms of reimbursement, so that we will, with Medicaid dollars, reimburse at an equal rate assisted-living and these other alternatives,” Rosebrough said.
© 2008 Woodview Assisted Living.
