Senior Living
River Terrace Health Campus
set to open in spring 2016
Renovation of the former KDH hospital nearly complete
(December 2015) – Trilogy Health Care is moving into historic downtown Madison, Ind., as a good neighbor, one that is sensitive to the delicate balance between preserving history and generating jobs, officials say. Its River Terrace Health Campus is scheduled to open in spring 2016 in the old King’s Daughters’ Hospital building. It is a prime example of how a vacant old building can be converted for a new use to preserve and enhance a community.
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Photo by Alice Jane Smith Elaine Campbell poses in the kitchen of an independent living apartment at the new River Terrace Health Campus in downtown Madison, Ind. |
Elaine Campbell, Director of New Business Development for Trilogy, said she is excited about what the $15 million facility will offer the community. First of all, River Terrace will bring jobs back downtown, an issue when King’s Daughters’ Hospital moved to the hilltop in early 2013. Trilogy bought the facility from King’s Daughters’ for $1, according to Campbell.
“We are talking about having 120 people on our team,” she said. The renovated four-floor facility will have 140 beds, ranging from health care to skilled-care to assisted living and independent living.
Moreover, the facility will bring residents, their families and visitors downtown. They will have easy access to stores, shops, cultural events and other activities located just blocks away.
“It’s great for the city to have us back here,” Campbell said. Mayor Damon Welch has been “helpful and accommodating,” she added. “We appreciate his partnership.” Campbell, now a Louisville, Ky., resident, has been with Trilogy for five years and in her current position for one and one-half years. She “absolutely loves it.”
River Terrace will be the 100th senior care facility to be opened by Trilogy Health Care. Based in Louisville, Trilogy operates Thornton Terrace in Hanover, Ind. It also has facilities in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Because of its status as the 100th facility, River Terrace’s ribbon cutting will be cause for extra celebration, according to Campbell.
River Terrace opens other opportunities to the community. One such option involves the Madison-Jefferson County Senior Center, according to Andrew Forrester, Community Relations Director for the City of Madison. The city is exploring the idea of locating the Senior Center in the old Emergency Room area of the former King’s Daughters’ Hospital, Forrester said.
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Photo by Alice Jane Smith Donnell Lovelace, a construction worker from Louisville, works on the Independent Living Unit at River Terrace. |
“We have talked with Trilogy about the possibility of creating good synergy with their place,” he said. Campbell agreed, adding that it is possible the center will open there sometime in 2017.
However, the linkage still is in the preliminary stages of planning. The city is applying for a grant from the State Office of Community and Rural Affairs, funded through the Lt. Governor’s Office with funds from a federal block grant program. “It’s really an exciting possibility,” Forrester said.
Meanwhile, 70 to 120 people go to senior dances weekly at the Brown Gym or at the Moose Lodge, Forrester said. If the joint project is funded to link the Senior Center with the River Terrace facility, the dances could be held there, as there is no permanent “home” for the popular weekly dances. Potentially, such a move could encourage River Terrace residents to participate, as well as more community residents. “We are wanting to see what options are out there,” Forrester said. “The city is exploring the idea.”
Before the first clients can be admitted to River Terrace, the facility will need to pass Life Safety certification, Campbell said. Then it will need to admit its first two clients to the Health Center, expected to be in February 2016. About 30 to 45 days after that, the facility expects to have its state survey for Medicare. After passing that survey, it will be able to admit Medicare clients. Meanwhile, the facility will be able to admit clients to assisted living and to independent living because they will be based on private pay, according to Campbell.
River Terrace is located on the grounds of the former King’s Daughters’ Hospital, which began serving Madison in 1915. Markers of the old hospital have been preserved, and the exterior remains much the same. Demolition on the interior of the old hospital began in 2014. It was a carefully controlled procedure that, to a casual observer, hardly stirred up dust. The Cutter Construction Co. did a “great job” of containing contamination and keeping the area safe, Campbell said.
Visitors on a tour are “in for a treat,” Campbell said. It is difficult to recognize the old hospital. Spatially, the interior bears little resemblance to the old hospital that moved in 2013. There are exposed beams on the fourth floor that give the feel and flavor of a cabin. Walls have been moved, spaces opened and colors softened. There are fireplaces, stone walls, exposed brick walls from the old building, and cozy sitting areas.
“We try to have common areas that encourage clients to get out of their rooms,” Campbell said. “It is very home-like, duplicating a living room.” Each floor has a dining room. Furnishings and light fixtures have a contemporary look. Windows provide wonderful views of downtown Madison. In particular, views from third and fourth floor rooms and suites offer lovely views of downtown Madison. The space gives an overall sense of comfort and hominess.
Despite easy access to the community, River Terrace offers many in-house amenities, such as chef-prepared meals, a movie theater, a fitness center, onsite physician’s office, game room, beauty and barber salon shop, wireless Internet lounge and a library.
Services will include the Short-Term Rehab Program called “Home Again,” which is open to community residents, as well as those at River Terrace. Shelley Dews, Community Service Representative, said community residents who anticipate surgery or related procedures may call River Terrace to book a room there before their procedures and then go to River Terrace to regain strength and functioning before going home.
“It really makes it nice for the community and for continuity of care with King’s Daughters’ Hospital,” she said.
The Health Center will provide 24-hour skilled nursing and comprehensive long-term care services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy; orthopedic, cardiac and stroke recovery; IV therapy; vascular and wound management; nutritional services; case management and social services; radiology services; discharge planning; patient and family training and education, and diabetes management.
Assisted Living will offer private apartments on the third floor of the facility, and they are a part of the larger senior health campus, so that residents have access to 24-hour skilled nursing care and comprehensive rehabilitation services without having to leave home. Residents can take their own furniture or get a furnished apartment.
Independent Living will offer one and two-bedroom suites on the fourth floor. Residents will have privacy but also may be part of a larger senior community. Marketing material notes they will have “freedom from the hassles of home ownership,” adding, “If you’re looking to simplify life while still remaining active and enjoying the luxurious living that you deserve at this stage in your life, River Terrace is the place to be.”
Marketing apparently has worked quite well. “All of Independent Living is completely full, which is amazing,” said Dews. “I’ve got people calling all the time.”