Building project advances in 2017

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SIDNEY — Fair Haven Shelby County Home made tremendous progress on its building project in 2017.

“After years of planning, Fair Haven finalized its building plans and put the project out for bid. A $12,111,000 bid from Thomas & Marker of Bellefontaine was accepted in November and we are excited to begin demolition and construction in the spring,” said Executive Director Anita Miller.

Her report continues:

The former Cedar Hall, one of the oldest wings, was prepared for demolition in early 2017, will be demolished first and the addition will be constructed in its place. Site work to level out the grounds was completed in April to prepare for the construction to come. At that same time, improvements in sewer pipe and hydrants were completed ahead of the addition project.

Freytag & Associates did an excellent job over the past few years working with us on the design and mechanical aspect of the project, and we wholeheartedly appreciate their expertise and professionalism.

The addition will add 66 new private rooms, and eight dual-occupancy “companion” suites, with updated dining and activity areas with contemporary amenities. This new wing will allow us to remodel the current Arbor Hall into an updated memory care wing. The remodel will result in the existing rooms being converted to 20 private rooms and four companion suites.

We are so grateful to Fair Haven’s residents, families and friends for their patience while we worked out the details ahead of time. This project has taken a great deal of time, but Fair Haven’s management believed it was the best course to plan and budget as comprehensively as possible in order to minimize issues once ground is broken.

Administrators-in-training

Fair Haven hosted another great Administrator-in-training in 2017. Mallory Burns started in the summer and, because she has a master’s degree, she only needed to complete a six-month internship. She is a bright young woman who was hired at a facility right after her internship ended, and will promote her as soon as she obtains her license. We at Fair Haven have been fortunate to train excellent interns and “pay it forward” in our industry by adding new administrators.

I have always enjoyed being an AIT preceptor. Fair Haven is a wonderful environment for an intern to learn about long-term care and how it fits into the spectrum of care within our community, and I am glad to know our county home is playing a part in giving back to our industry. Not only that, I believe Fair Haven is helped by welcoming fresh perspectives, which I have always found in the interns I’ve helped.

New chef

Our longtime Dietary Director Connie Wright entered her well-deserved retirement in 2017, and we were fortunate to welcome chef Robert Schmiesing to our kitchen and our management team. At that time, he was already a Certified Executive Chef who acclimated to long-term care quickly. He undertook all the training and tests necessary to become a Certified Dietary Manager and has done a phenomenal job with our food service mission. We are proud of his accomplishments here thus far and are excited to see what innovations he has planned for 2018.

We also added a resident “foodies” committee with whom Rob meets to discuss ideas for meals and making sure our menus fit our residents’ palates, and it has been a success.

Miller
http://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2018/02/web1_MillerAnita_18.jpgMiller

For the Sidney Daily News

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