On September 8th, at 3:30 p.m., the Morrow Home , in Sparta, will officially hold its ribbon cutting, which coincides with the 1 year anniversary celebration of the building being occupied. The event will be recognizing that the fruition of construction has matched the full scope of the planning. Unfortunately, due to the building being occupied by residents, this event is not open to the public. Dan Meyer was quick to point out, however, that tours can be scheduled, separate from the actual event.
CEO of the Morrow Home Campus, Dan Meyer, said that he wanted to wait until everything was fully completed, including the landscaping, before holding the ceremony. For Meyer, it was a matter of safety, aesthetics and just the officialness of being done. Meyer often repeated the high priority that the Morrow home places on the safety of all residents and staff, as well as visitors.
On Thursday, of next week, there will be around a 25 minute presentation, followed by the ceremonial ribbon cutting. At that point, five guides will give tours to small groups, of the new facilities. The smaller groups are intended to respect the residents privacy, another point that Meyer drove home as a crucial factor in the day-to-day operations at the Morrow Home.
The project started out in 2017, when Dan Meyer toured the Homestead (assisted living) that had been built in 1937. Meyer’s obligation to the residents and their families was to assess the cost of updating the almost centuries-old structures (to meet current code regulations) versus an outright rebuild.
Meyer said that for the modern people coming in, it was not set up well. The bathrooms were only 29 x 65, making it incredibly difficult to get residents out , if they were to fall and need assistance.
The planning itself took two years. Then, they broke ground in 2020 … a four year process.
Meyers said that it was well worth the effort. “When the residents were moved from Homestead to Creekside, many of them felt that they did not deserve something so nice. “They absolutely deserve the best that we can give them and it made the staff very happy to hear the expressions of gratitude,” Meyer stated.
In Creekside, each room is private and has individual heating and cooling units, a far cry from Homestead, which was inconsistent and acted as a “One temperature fits all,” system.
In addition, each rehab room in the nursing home comes with a television, refrigerator, phones and a very large, European style bathroom.
When Meyer undertook the extensive project, he had one word in mind, as far as the structure itself being laid out: flow. “Every aspect I looked at I would ask myself “How can this reach optimal flow?” Even in the courtyard, I felt a curvy sidewalk would make residents feel more relaxed. When I found out that the cost for this wish was minimal, we immediately implemented it,” Meyer said.
CEO Dan Meyer caught a major break, having locked into the cost of the building materials and construction prior to COVID. “We were very fortunate to nail down those prices when we did. If we would have waited, we would have easily incurred a rate of 35 percent more,” Meyer exclaimed. “As well, all the shipping delays that are common place now, we saw only small hiccups during the entire process.”
“Mary Morrow would be proud of the footprint we are creating here, with the same facility she started, way back in 1917. I am sure she would have wanted the buildings and facilities to grow and meet the demanding changes of modernization,” Meyer said.
Meyer stated that the new buildings are a great improvement and that the upgrades have been well received by residents and staff alike. But he is also conscious of the fact that future upgrades may be needed, as more people are likely to be coming in at some point. “We have the Baby-Boomers approaching, and that will have us on our toes, but we are much better prepared to meet those demands with what we have accomplished thus far,” Meyer said.
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