Safe Haven will be a model of quality

This article was published in the Idaho Mountain Express on May 1, 2013

By SCOTT BURPEE

Safe Haven Health Care was recently approved by Blaine County to take over the operations of Blaine Manor in October of this year and to relocate the operations to a new facility we will be opening next year in Bellevue at Bell Mountain. In an effort to clear up a number of misconceptions and false rumors, Safe Haven offers the following information.

We shelved the original proposal for a single 48,000-square-foot-facility after receiving community input at annexation hearings and after state and federal authorities announced they would de-emphasize nursing-home care in favor of less expensive care models.
The Bell Mountain project will initially consist of three separate buildings: two 16-bed skilled-nursing facilities of approximately 9,000 square feet and one assisted-living, administrative and therapy center building of approximately 12,000 square feet.

The nursing-home buildings will be the first in Idaho to be built for dual purposes. The code to which they are built will allow either assisted-living or nursing-home use, allowing flexibility in the very uncertain regulatory environment that we presently are in. All buildings will be secure, with no separate dedicated dementia units.

No residents or patients will live at these facilities who would pose any threat to the community or the school, or who would require any type of notification or permission to reside at the facility.

The facilities illustrated on our project sign in no way reflect the original proposal of a year ago, and in fact reflect information presented both to the county and the city in numerous public meetings this year.

There is no agreement with the city or county to insure or guarantee this project. It is being carried out with private funds, and the main obligation of the county is to transfer the Medicare/Medicaid certification.

The county will also be involved in ensuring that safe and compassionate care remains in Blaine County. There is no agreement obligating the county or city to “bail out” Safe Haven financially.

All aspects of the project were explained at numerous public hearings, and several changes were made based on community input and recommendations by local officials. There has been information on county and Safe Haven websites. Several articles and pictures were published in the Idaho Mountain Express.

Dave Hennessy, a local developer, is representing Safe Haven and he is always available to answer questions from his office in Hailey. Dave is working with Safe Haven to ensure that as many local sub-contractors as possible are invited to bid on components of this project.

In summary, Safe Haven is developing a senior care project in Bellevue that the community can be very proud of, that will contribute significantly to the economic and tax base of the area and that will be a much better facility than either Blaine Manor or Safe Haven’s existing facilities.

We have met all our time frames and benchmarks, and we plan to start the application permitting process soon with construction to start shortly thereafter.

Original Source: www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005147131#.UYlLQZXJDFJ