State approves $15M skilled nursing community in Ozark

Catering to an aging baby boomer population, a St. Charles-based company plans a $15 million skilled nursing community in Ozark with individualized care programs.

Focused Senior Communities aims to construct an 80-bed skilled nursing community on 10 acres next to Price Cutter after the Healthcare Facilities Review Committee of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services granted a certificate of need Nov. 3, giving it the green light for development.

The campus near U.S. Highway 65 and state Route CC would be the first in Missouri built under the model developed by the Green House Project, a national nonprofit organization that promotes person-centered care in smaller homes. Currently, there are 170 Green House homes operating in 27 states and 130 more in the pipeline, adding five more states.  

“This isn’t a warehouse facility for older people where you are told when to get up and when to eat each day,” said Focused Senior Communities CEO Al Beamer. “These residents have choices and dignity in growing older. This approach takes resident wants and needs into consideration.

“It’s not just an efficient place to house a lot of people.”

The campus will comprise eight 7,000-square-foot homes, which include a central dining room, hearth room and open kitchen surrounded by 10 private resident rooms, each with a full private bathroom. A screened porch will lead to a large patio, with walkways and gardens between homes and the main administrative building.

“In the state of Missouri, Ozark has the greatest need for a facility like this,” Beamer said of the site selection. “State demographics found a need for 691 skilled beds in Christian County. With our 80, the problem is a long way from being solved, but it’s a good start.”

Beamer expects to break ground in the spring and open by late fall, hiring around 100 to staff the facility.[[In-content Ad]]