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Construction on new Christian Care nursing home in Muskegon to begin; groundbreaking Sunday

Published: Thursday, November 10, 2011, 10:00 AM     Updated: Thursday, November 10, 2011, 10:05 AM By Dave Alexander | Muskegon Chronicle The Muskegon Chronicle
MUSKEGON — Plans are progressing toward construction of an $8 million nursing home and Alzheimer's treatment facility in Muskegon Township.

Christian Care Inc. is moving forward on the 70-bed, 50,000-square-foot facility at 2053 S. Sheridan. The public is invited to a groundbreaking ceremony at 3 p.m. Sunday at the site on Sheridan Road just south of Evanston Avenue.

Ground preparation already has begun, and in the coming days Tridonn Construction Co. and its subcontractors will begin construction. Building, equipping and staffing the nursing home will take 15 months; Christian Care hopes to open the new facility by March 2013, according to Administrator Jan Clark.

Christian Care is the 93-year-old outreach of 16 Reformed and Christian Reformed churches in the Muskegon area. The organization is replacing and expanding its current nursing facility at 75 Kenneth in Muskegon.

“We view this as a step forward in faith in Muskegon,” said John Baker, vice president of the Christian Care board. “This is a big undertaking, but the community needs it.”

Christian Care will expand its operations in the new facility with 21 Alzheimer patient beds in a wing of the new nursing home. The new services for Alzheimer patients will increase employment at the facility by the equivalent of 19 positions.

Christian Care will transfer 70 jobs from its current, outdated nursing home to the new facility, Clark said.

“We are designing the new facility for residents with dementia,” Clark said. “All of our staff will go through dementia 'boot camp' to make sure we are working properly with people with these needs.”

The new nursing home and Alzheimer residential center has been designed by Hooker De Jong Architects in Muskegon. Financing is being provided through Huntington Bank. However, Christian Care and its member churches continue to raise funds for the new facility and furtherance of its mission, Baker said.

“We still have a lot to do,” Baker said of raising funds to support the project. “We are looking for people to step forward with 'room sponsorships.' We really need the community to step up to the plate.”

Christian Care got its start in 1918 when lumber baron Henry Langeland and his wife gave a group of churches a Victorian home on Peck Street for elderly care. The Holland Home site has now become the women's facility for the Muskegon Rescue Mission.

In the 1960s, Christian Care saw a need for a nonprofit nursing home and established the Kenneth Street facility. About 20 years ago, the agency moved off Peck Street with a 105-unit assisted living facility at 1536 McLaughlin, along U.S. 31 south of Apple Avenue.

Email: dalexander@muskegonchronicle.com

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