News

Assisted Living announced

By Scott Wagar

11/20/2012

One necessity that individuals have wanted in Bottineau for many years is an assisted living component in the community. This type of facility took one step closer in becoming a reality this past Monday when it was announced by two entities that they are ready to start construction on the edifice if they can get enough interest in the local area to start the project.   

Diane Olson, Bottineau’s EDC director, in association with architect Craig Helenske of the Helenske Design Group out of Fargo, announced the potential for an assisted living structure to be constructed in Bottineau. However, in order for the edifice to be built Olson and Helenske first need to know how many people in the area are interested in becoming a resident in the building, and if there are individuals or groups who would be willing to finance the project.

“This all started about two years ago,” Olson said. “I had an opportunity to write a USDA Rural Development Grant, which is more or less a planning grant, a rural business opportunity grant, for the purpose to research things in one’s community that have been of interest and that can probably be developed and bring some life to projects. I was awarded the grant, which is a 50/50 match.”

Olson added that the primary reason she applied for an USDA grant for assisted living structure is because she has received numerous calls in her tenure with the EDC about the possibility of bringing such a facility to Bottineau.

“People where calling the office and saying they were thinking about their parents and themselves for the future,” Olson said. “So, I went forward with the grant.”

After receiving the funding from the USDA, Olson conducted feasibility and business plans for an assisted living building with positive results.
At that time, Olson contacted Helenske, who has close to 30 years in designing assisted living facilities and having played a major part in seeing close to 30 assisted living structures being constructed across the state.

“Our assisted living apartment style living with personal and health care services tailored to your needs,” Helenske said. “We are offering three apartment layouts, each complete with full kitchen, extra storage space and ample living. You are able to enjoy the freedom and independence you have come to enjoy without he burdens of home ownership.”

The three layouts will include:

•  One bedroom with one bath
•  One bedroom with one corner bath
•  Two bedrooms with one bath

Additional living amenities that are included with the rent will include all utilities (with the exclusion of telephone) cable television, activity programs, emergency call system, a noon meal, use of a commons area, light housekeeping, general maintenance, outside parking, spacious corridor area to congregate, exercise room and laundry facilities. Additional services could be available for an additional fee would be full housekeeping, laundry services, breakfast and or evening meals, transportation, beauty an barber shop, garage and special maintenance.

The one bedroom apartment will cost $2,200 a month while the two bedroom apartment will be $2,600 a month.

At the same time Olson was in contact with Helenske, the EDC and Helenske Design Group were having discussions with the Good Samaritan Society in Bottineau and its national headquarters in Sioux Falls to see if they would be in playing an important part in the project, which they have agreed to do.

“We asked the Good Samaritan Society if they would be willing to own the assisted living building, but they said no because at the present moment they have other priorities within their family,” Helenske said. “However, we also asked if they would be willing to provide services to the assisted living residents in their apartments and they said yes.”

“We wanted the Good Samaritan Society to be involved because they can offer additional services to the apartment,” Helenske added.

Some of the services Helenske spoke about in the public meeting included assisting the residents in their apartment with their medication, bathing or laundry.  Helenske also stated that it is also an opportunity for those who will go into assisted living to enter into the Good Samaritan Society as they grow older and that time comes for them.

Helenske said that he is pleased the Good Samaritan Society has decided to be part of the assisted living facility because of the services they have to offer the apartment owners.

“We feel it is important to have a relationship with the nursing home. We didn’t go public with the assisted living facility until we established a good relationship with the Good Samaritan Society. Overall, we have been in dialogue with them for one year where we exchanged ideas, showing them drawings, talking about the economics and other important issues,” Helenske said. “We’ve have also done two market studies and were told that on paper there is a need for assisted living in Bottineau and that the demographics are out there.”

The assisted living building will be located on the east side of the Good Samaritan Society-Bottineau’s existing complex on Vinje Street, and the two edifices will be connected by a hallway for access.

Helenske stated that rent for an assisted living apartment is somewhat higher than your average apartment. However, he added that when you consider the additional services you get with the rent, and that the average mean of staying in a long term care facility is $10,000 a month, assisted living for people who need backing and aid in their older age is a reasonable price, especially when homeowners have to consider the additional costs they are paying in their home.

Olson and Helenske brought up in the public meetings they held that costs like property taxes, insurance, fuel bill, lawn care, snow removal and many other costs homeowners face, individuals will find that those additional costs normally are more than what individuals will pay in assisted living apartments.

With everything in place for the assisted living building to be constructed, Olson and Helenske now need the local area to lend them a hand so they can move forward in building the facility.

What is first needed is for individuals in the local area who are interested in taking residence in Bottineau’s Assisting Living building to contact Diane Olson and inform her of the decision in wanting to rent an apartment in the facility.

The second part is for individuals, groups or corporations to contact Olson and tell her of their wishes to invest in the project.

Presently, the plan is to construct the facility with 10 to 15 apartments at a total cost of $3.8 million for the entire project.

Individuals interested in acquiring an apartment or investing in the project, can contact Olson at (701) 228-3922 or edc@utma.com.

For Helenske, the Bottineau Assisted Living facility is more than just a place for seniors to go live and have assistance if they want it. It’s about building up the community and making it a stronger place for all.

“This is really about a community investment because what Bottineau is experiencing right now is what every other town went through in their process of building on assisted living structure. These towns were watching their senior citizens making decisions about if they didn’t have an option here what would they do and they ended up leaving their communities. They ended up going to Minot, to Grand Forks and every place in between. Their families were split up, their bank accounts were removed from the local financial institutions, and ripple affect took place across their communities,” Helenske said. “Even more so, the heart of this is the Baby Boomer generation that is quickly coming to retirement age. If something isn’t here, they are going to move. There is vitality here in Bottineau and that is a good thing and it is not going away. Bottineau is going to have generations of seniors that are going to have to have an alternative. So, this is about caring for seniors, but it is also about caring for the community.”