Columbus, NE: Brookestone Acres Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Is Taking Shape

VHS VISION: Outstanding Facilities

We will develop buildings and grounds that embrace quality life and are recognized as attractive landmarks in their community.

Five months down….nine to go! Construction at the all new facility and location for Brookestone Acres Skilled Nursing & Rehabiliation Campus in Columbus, Nebraska is progressing on schedule. After a wet spring and early summer, the Weitz Construction team is running on all cylinders and making great progress on the main building. By sometime in October, all the framing will be complete and the building will be “in the dry,” ready for anything winter brings our way.

The design of Brookestone Acres includes some unique elements never before seen in a Vetter Health Services project. The side-by-side, semi-private rooms have been banished…replaced by deluxe companion rooms in a toe-to-toe configuration. These rooms have been a popular alternative to the traditional semi-private rooms, but have never completely replaced the more medical model layout…until now!

The medication and linen cabinets for each resident room continue to undergo significant upgrades from the earlier models. We again will be constructing mock up models for the VHS clinical team to review and evaluate. We continue to “think outside the med cart.”

Going beyond the resident rooms, evolving design concepts have been incorporated into the common areas within the building as well. The therapy gym is now nestled between two, forty resident neighborhoods. This will hopefully shorten the distances our residents travel from their rooms to rehabilitation and exercise. We brought back the service corridor that connects households and neighborhoods. This re-establishes the “no food…no laundry” zone at the front entrance, as well as throughout the more public areas of the building.

One of the most exciting changes involves the “Great Room.” In past designs, this space has been located toward the back of the building, adjacent to a main kitchen. The design of Brookestone Acres places the Great Room at the front of the building, adjacent to the main entrance. The multipurpose room will still provide gathering space for our residents and team member, but it will be more engaging and inviting for the Columbus Community as a whole. We envision this great room as a place for seniors within the Columbus community to gather for celebration, education, inspiration and socialization. The “farmhouse” motif with the wrap around porch will also be an attractive gathering place for coffee in the mornings. Maybe we should call this new concept, The Brookestone Connection? Stay tuned for more…

Submitted by Mitch Elliott, Chief Development Officer, Vetter Health Services, Elkhorn, NE

Vetter Health Services is…Changing the View of Long Term Care…Click on our In The Loop to see all the great stories. http://www.vhsintheloop.com/

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