$2.2M Expansion Nears Completion at Maplecrest
STRUTHERS, Ohio -- The holiday season might be half a year off, but Lisa Daprile is already envisioning how the courtyard taking shape at Maplecrest Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is going to look then.
“I can see the Christmas lights,” she remarked.
The enclosed courtyard, where residents will be able to “go outside and sit and enjoy the day,” is among the most eagerly anticipated elements -- by staff and residents alike -- of the $2.2 million expansion and renovation project taking place at Maplecrest, said Daprile, vice president. Maplecrest was established in 1966 and Daprile she and her husband, Chris, purchased the Struthers nursing home, located on the landmark Lyon-Creed property, in 1997. They completed its first expansion the following year.
“One thing that’s unique about Maplecrest is that it’s situated right in the center of a neighborhood,” Daprile remarked. “That’s very appealing. Our residents can come outside with their families and they can sit on our deck.” Because of the neighborhood setting, Maplecrest has less of an “institutional feel,” she said.
In lieu of a formal groundbreaking ceremony, the Dapriles hosted an event Wednesday morning to provide an update on the project. Alex Downie & Sons, Youngstown, is the general contractor on the project, which was designed by Strollo Architects, Youngstown.
The 10,000-square-foot expansion is nearing completion with the new wing slated to open later this summer, and the renovated space in November. It will add 12 patient rooms. Maplecrest has an application pending in the state for an additional seven beds, which would bring the number of beds approved for residents to 55. The new space will offer a combination of private, semiprivate and bariatric rooms.
“Anytime that you have development and expansion, especially on existing property, that’s pretty exciting for the community,”said Mayor Terry Stocker.
“Struthers is kind of landlocked,” he pointed out. “There’s not a whole lot of room for new development.”
Once the project is completed, Maplecrest likely will need to add at least 10 employees to its workforce of 55 full- and part-time staff, “hopefully more than that,” Daprile said.
Other features of the project include an expanded therapy center and new beauty salon, activity centers and resident lounges. Dining services will remain concentrated in the original building on the site. “We’re very proud of the history in the house and we’re trying to maintain that as much as possible,” she said.
During the course of the project, the Dapriles also have invested $75,000 in an electronic medical records system, Daprile said. “That’s enabling our nurses and our caregivers to be more efficient and more effective in caring for our residents,” she remarked. Additionally, upgrades have been made to security, phone and wireless communication systems onsite.
Copyright 2013 by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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