COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

 

Grant, Nebraska is a rural farming community of approximately 1,200 people.  It is a four-hour drive from Denver, Colorado and is located near Lake Maconaha.  Grant is described by those who live there as a progressive, aggressive community.  Health care needs of the community are met through the local community hospital.

 

BACKGROUND HISTORY

 

In 1986, Grant, Nebraska began to feel the effects of a declining farming industry.  A group of seven couples in the com­munity began to meet regularly to discuss the state of affairs in Grant.  These gatherings evolved into organized community brainstorming meetings on economic development. 

 

At these meetings, it was noted that elders were leaving the community and taking their assets with them, because they were no longer able to provide the upkeep their homes required.  These elders did not require nursing home care, yet they could not easily stay in their own homes.  They were leaving their friends and community because there were no adequate housing alternatives available in Grant. With this realization, the Westview Retirement Community Project was launched.

 

PROJECT INITIATIVE

 

The group approached the local community hospital with the idea of building retirement units to accommodate elderly individuals who did not need to be in a nursing home, but who could no longer live at home due to the physical demands of home ownership.  The hospital elected not participate in the project, since the only nursing home in Grant was owned and operated by the local hospital and hospital administration felt such a project was in direct conflict with the purpose of the nursing home.

 

A Corporation is Formed

 

The seven couples dropped to six.  The remaining six couples, using their own money, formed a corporation, and applied for 501c (not-for-profit) status.  The group established a six-member Board of Directors, consisting of one spouse from each of the six couples. The group then extended corporation membership to local businesses with an initial annual membership fee of $250.

 

Currently, corporation membership carries an annual fee of $10 which is assessed to all members of the corporation.  During annual membership meetings the Board of Directors reports on the activities of the past year.  Today, three of the original board members remain on Board of Directors.

 

The Feasibility Study

 

A nurse in the community, who was one of the original board members, recognized the potential that retirement units held for Grant.  She contacted a management company that specialized in the management of established health care facilities.  Working with this firm, she introduced the group to the concept of a feasibility study to determine whether Grant could support a retirement community project.

 

The monies gleaned through selling memberships to the corporation funded the feasibility study. The study results showed that it was indeed possible for the community of Grant to support the retirement community project. 

 

FUNDING THE WESTVIEW RETIREMENT COMMUNITY PROJECT

 

Funding Strategies

 

The FmHA Loan

 

The corporation approached the Farm and Home Administration (FmHA), now the Rural Economic and Community Development Administration, for a community facility loan.  At that time, the maximum FmHA loan amount was $750,000.  Not only was the amount insufficient to completely fund the project, but the matter was further complicated by the fact FmHA had never funded a retirement home

 

The corporation's request for funds caught the interest of a FmHA agent who believed the Grant retirement community project was a terrific concept for a rural community.  The FmHA agent personally took the cause in hand and worked with the corporation to gain funding through FmHA.

 

Donations

 

In addition to the FmHA funding, the corporation had to raise $265,000 locally.  For the most part, this was accomplished through cash donations.  Some of those donations were "in kind.”  For example, the lumber yard donated windows for the building and a local company leveled the ground at the building site at no cost.

 

The funding included:  $500,000 in secured loans from local banks;  $935,000 from FmHA; and $265,000 from local cash and in-kind contributions.

 

MARKETING THE WESTVIEW RETIREMENT PROJECT

 

Efforts to Gain Community Support

Prospective Tenants

 

The corporation hired a marketing group from Denver to survey community residents  60 years of age and older regarding their interest in residing at a local retirement community.  The community response was very positive.  People who were interested in reserving a unit in the Westview Retirement Community deposited money with the corporation to retain a unit. Deposit money is returned if the individual needs alternative housing prior to the unit’s completion or in the event of death.

 

The Community

 

The six couples frequently spoke to local civic groups to gain community support for the project.  The group placed ads in news­papers and engaged in countless informal discussions about the project with individuals in the community.

 

Current Marketing Strategies

 

Marketing strategies centered around advertising to the target audience of older persons who would benefit from residence in a retirement community.   Formal campaigns included encouraging the high school alumni association to contact classes whose members would be within the target age group.  Advertisements are placed in newspapers within a 60-mile radius and in the Denver newspaper.  Brochures highlighting Westview are given to members of the 55 Club through the local bank.  Physicians who come to Grant as part of continuing education outreach or as guest speakers for civic events are given Westview brochures to take back to their practices.  Word of mouth has proven one of the more effective advertising methods for the corporation.

 

OUTSTANDING CHALLENGES

 

Community Education

 

Community education became the focus of activity for the six couples.  The concept of independent living units designed specifically for elderly individuals was not a familiar concept to the community of Grant.  To complicate matters, there were no retirement complexes in surrounding rural communities for the couples to cite as examples.  In time, the community began to understand the differences between the types of services provided in a complex of retirement units for independent seniors and the constant medical services received by nursing home residents. 

 

The Need to Establish Credibility

 

It took a very long time for the six couples to convince the community that they were not involved with supporting the project for personal gain. 

 

A Lack of Local Hospital Support

 

The local hospital believed the advent of retirement units would negatively impact the nursing home census.  The hospital administration felt that extending the option of living in a retirement community to elderly individuals would negatively impact the census of the nursing home.

 

To date, the hospital-run nursing home has not seen a drop in the census due to the introduction of retirement units into the community.  The Westview Retirement Community is currently operating at capacity, as is the nursing home.

 

CURRENT STATUS

 

Time Line

The idea for a retirement community took shape in 1986.  The 30-unit congregate building was completed in 1991.

 

Population

Although individuals in the 70's were the initial target group, the average age of the residents is mid-80's.

 

Services include the following:

 

Housecleaning        Once every two weeks.

Linen Service         Once per week,  including a change of bedding and towels.

Yardwork               Grass cutting and snow removal as needed.

Maintenance            Home/unit repair as needed.

 

Personnel

The Westview Retirement Community generates six FTE positions as follows -

        Manager                Full-time

        Cook                     Full-time

        Cook                     Half-time

        Companions     Full-time (3)

 

Fees

Monthly rental covers -

        All utilities

        Cable TV

        Air Conditioning

        Taxes on Building

 

Residents pay individually for telephone service.

 

Meals

Westview Retirement Community provides residents with the option of three meals a day for a fee, however,  residents are not required to take any meals through Westview.  The noon meal is the "big meal" of the day and residents are strongly encouraged to participate in order to insure that residents receive, at least, one nutritious meal per day. 

 

The fee schedule for meals is on a one-, two- or three-meal basis.  For example:

        $50/month = Noon meal each day of

                               the month

     >$50/month = Noon and Dinner each

                                day of the month

     >$50/month = Breakfast, Noon and

                                Dinner each day of the

                                month

 

Other Services

Exercise Room

An exercise room, complete with bicycles, treadmills and whirlpool, is available for Westview residents.  This use of this facility is provided at no extra charge to the residents and is covered in the monthly fee. 

Visiting Nurse

A nurse, paid through a contract with the local hospital, visits Westview weekly to fill pill boxes with prescription medications for tenants.  For an additional charge, the nurse will take blood pressures, provide foot care and perform other health care services .

 

Home Health Care

Home health care services are provided to residents of Westview through a hospital-based home health program.  The program is paid for through Medicare.  Approximately one-third of the residents need some form of home health service.

 

COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE

 

The community utilizes the Westview Retirement Community facilities quite often.  The facility is very attractive architecturally and is used by civic groups and clubs for meetings.  Local groups and community members present musical programs and recitals for Westview tenants, and the Mennonite Choir performs twice a month.  The facility has become a mainstay of community life, hosting wedding rehearsal dinners and family gatherings involving tenants of the Westview Retirement Community.

 

PLANS FOR FUTURE GROWTH

 

Duplex Program

 

The outer edge of the Westview Retirement Community campus is the location of the Duplex Program.  Duplexes are being built to accommodate the young-old, i.e., those 65-75 years of age.  These are two-bedroom duplexes with yardwork, maintenance and taxes provided/paid by the corporation.  The individual(s) seeking to reside in one of the duplexes must be functionally independent, although they may need assistance with home maintenance.

 

Interested individuals must pay a deposit fee, which is then used to help build the duplex.  Upon occupancy, there is a monthly rental fee.  A portion of the entry deposit is returned to the resident, When they leave the duplex housing arrangement.  A resident of the Duplex Housing Program is automatically given first consideration when an opening becomes available in the Retirement Community Complex, should the individual need to relocate.

 

The Duplex Program has not taken off as well as the corporation would like.  The first duplex was built without the placement of a security deposit by a likely occupant.  The cost of building a duplex unit without a security deposit for occupancy proved to be prohibitive.  The Board of Directors decided not to build any more duplexes unless a security deposit is received from a likely occupant.  Since adopting this resolution, it is anticipated that the program will accelerate.