Open for Business

Comfort Inns & Suites, 5150 Gretna Road, Branson, has opened a new hotel that boasts a distinctive wildlife display within its cozy mountain lodge theme, according to Chris Myer, vice president of marketing for Myer Hotels, which owns six other hotel businesses in Branson. The new four-story, 101-unit hotel is the first new hotel construction in Branson since the 90s, according to Myer. It is also the first hotel to be built in the expanding Branson Meadows development, he said. The hotel offers 30 suite rooms for those customers who want extra space, as well as refrigerators and microwaves. It also has an indoor pool, spa, sauna, exercise room, game room, gift shop, guest laundry, continental breakfast and ticket services.

Elderwise, an advocacy agency to help people navigate the nursing home industry, has opened at 3301 S. Dayton, according to owner Patsy Pope. The agency provides nursing home residents and their families with education, counseling, support, expertise and mediation. Pope, a nurse who formerly worked for the state of Oklahoma as an ombudsman dealing with complaints against nursing home facilities, is assisted in Elderwise by two other advocates, both registered nurses. She said her firm is hired by families that live outside the area who have a family member in care. The advocate's job is to oversee care and visit the elderly person regularly, as well as to help the family with any problems that may arise.