Mercy Villa gets nearly $2M facelift

Donor support paved the way to nearly $2 million in renovations to St. John’s Mercy Villa, a long-term care facility built in 1981.

“We knew we wanted to either rebuild or remodel,” said Mercy Villa Administrator Don Swafford, who noted that the project had been in the works since 2006.

“With the economy, we said, ‘We’re going to remodel because this is a great location,’” he added.

Mercy Villa is located at 1100 E. Montclair St., on the Medical Mile that stretches between St. John’s Hospital and CoxHealth’s south campus.

In all, the two-phase project entailed remodeling 65,000 square feet and adding 700 square feet at Mercy Villa, updating patient rooms and living areas and expanding meeting rooms and the facility’s entrance.

Of the total project cost of nearly $2 million, $1.5 million came from the St. John’s Foundation for Community Health’s Mercy Villa Care Fund, while the remainder came from St. John’s Hospital’s capital fund.

Foundation President Mike Peters said the Mercy Villa Care Fund has accrued donations ranging from $5 to several thousand dollars in the course of several years, some from memorial donations made by residents’ families.

“This is the end result of that type of giving,” Peters said. The fund also paid for two vehicles Mercy Villa uses to transport residents to appointments and activities.

A new look
In Phase I of the Mercy Villa renovation, led by general contractor Bales Construction, heating, air conditioning and plumbing systems were updated. Patient rooms were redecorated with new paint, furniture, cabinets and countertops, as well as bedding and floor, wall and window coverings.

“It gives a more modern appearance for our building. It makes everything lighter,” Swafford said. “We had two people say, ‘How did you make these halls wider?’ It was just improved lighting and wall coverings.”

Similar renovations extended to the hallways, restrooms, nurses’ stations, living rooms, dining rooms, activity room and chapel.

The dining rooms were decorated with large murals reminiscent of an Italian villa, and walls in each of Mercy Villa’s three wings feature quotes from the Bible or Sisters of Mercy founder Catherine McAuley.

The chapel, which is staffed by two full-time chaplains and frequented by members of the local community, is now wheelchair accessible and has new sound and lighting systems.
Seven electric fireplaces were added throughout the facility and a sun room was created with an expansion of existing space, allowing patients and guests a place to enjoy the outdoors from inside.

“It’s more homey,” says Ronald Robertson, a longtime Mercy Villa resident, of the changes.

Phase II, constructed by general contractor Springfield Builders Inc., brought a canopy entrance that protects residents and visitors from inclement weather, and a larger lobby with a fireplace, piano and seating and reception areas.

Smooth transition
With 150 beds, Mercy Villa provides skilled nursing and rehabilitation therapy in addition to long-term care. The facility now has 145 employees who care for 143 patients.
Although renovations began in 2007, one of the reasons they took three years to finish was because staff was careful to maintain continuity of care for residents.

“We were able to keep everybody on their specific nursing unit,” Swafford said. “We would do a couple of rooms and take the people from their room and put them in those rooms. If they were in a private room we put them in a room by themselves. We put roommates together.”

Resident Robertson agreed that the changes went smoothly.

“They worked around us, and we played around them,” he says with a smile.

Robertson also was complimentary of the construction crews who worked on his home. “If you were going somewhere and there was something in the way, well, they’d move it,” he added.

The biggest improvement, in Robertson’s opinion, is the easier access provided by the new canopy entrance. Before the remodel, there was just one small ramp.

“If a car got in the way, you couldn’t get in or get out,” he said, and he also appreciates that he can enter or leave without getting wet when it’s raining.

Dr. Timothy Wilson, Mercy Villa medical director, emphasized that patient care didn’t change during the remodel. “It was just more challenging,” he said.

The emphasis on the residents can even be seen in which areas were renovated first.

“One of the biggest things is, we started in the residents’ rooms, said Diana Bryan, director of social services. “That was what was important … and everybody saw that. We didn’t start in the administrator’s office.”[[In-content Ad]]