New CRMC Care Center Public Forum set for September 13th

The public is invited to hear details about the state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar nursing home to soon be built on the Heartwood Senior Living Community campus in Crosby at a public forum set for Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Heartwood’s Conference Room.

Senior Housing Partners Development Manager Kevin Lohry will speak about the project together with Cuyuna Regional Medical Center’s CEO Amy Hart and Senior Services Administrator Daren Rife. Renderings of the completed center will also be available to view, and the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Those attending must use the entrance to the right of Heartwood’s main entrance and wear a face mask. Watch for the sign outside the entrance door. Face masks will be available at the door and light refreshments will be served. No reservation is necessary.

CRMC in July announced its plans to build a new Care Center to continue providing high quality care and services to meet the needs of residents of greater Minnesota. The new 45,000-square-foot Care Center will be built as an additional wing to the Heartwood campus. Construction is expected to take a little over a year, with the hope that ground can be broken in late 2022 or early 2023. The main purpose of the project is to enhance the living experience of the residents and to create a more efficient work environment for staff.

CRMC’s current Care Center was built in 1962 and cannot be expanded at its current site because of congestion, required repairs, and structural issues. In addition, the current Care Center’s design is outdated and does not support resident independence and privacy. Many of the resident rooms and showers are shared, there are narrow bathroom doorways, long hallways, lack of common areas, storages, and offices.

Designed by BKV Architecture of Minneapolis, the new nursing home will have more of a neighborhood feel where residents have privacy and dignity, yet short distances to meet and connect with other residents. There will be lounge areas, a therapy room, central dining room, touch down nursing stations, outdoor living spaces and views, and mainly private rooms. The wing will also have a centralized nursing station for better staff efficiency and training space for staff. There will be 54 licensed beds; 48 of which are private rooms and three double rooms. The Care Center’s current average daily census is 40 residents.