Lakeland Continuing Care to build new facility in coming year

Spring 2012 is the target date for breaking ground on a new continuing care facility in Stevensville.

The Lakeland Board of Directors want to put the facility on 18 acres of wooded property at 4382 Cleveland Ave.  

The 57,000-square-foot facility will feature larger rooms and bathrooms for residents. It will have 111 beds, the same number as the existing 33,000- square-foot facility.

It is expected construction of the continuing care facility will take 12 months.

Once Lakeland receives certificate of need approval through the State of Michigan, at the Lincoln Township Commission meeting on June 6 the health care group will present the project and request permits to build the skilled nursing facility.

Residents, their families, volunteers and staff were asked for their opinions on the site of the new facility, after comparing it to an alternative location near the Lakeland Health Park in Royalton Township.

"Those who attended the forums love the natural beauty offered at the Cleveland site," says Jim Schlaman, executive director of post acute care for Lakeland HealthCare. He calls it "a natural, healing environment with nearly unlimited potential for walking paths."

It's also larger than the second proposed site on Maiden Lane, leaving more room for future growth.

The current five-acre site at Red Arrow Highway and Hawthorne Avenue will likely be sold after residents and staff make the move to the Cleveland Avenue location. As a community-owned, not-for-profit health care organization, any revenue from the sale of the current property would be reinvested for future community health care needs.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Jim Schlaman, Lakeland HealthCare