Plans are now in the works that will transition nine assisted living apartments at Perry Lutheran Homes’ Willis Avenue Campus into skilled nursing suites.

The rooms were all at one time nursing suites, but in 1999 they were repurposed as apartments when the need for additional housing for residents grew. However, when PLH branched out to include the Spring Valley Retirement Community in 2013, the demand for apartments diminished, opening the door to provide more focused care opportunities. Reverend Max Phillips, CEO of Perry Lutheran Homes, says the nine skilled nursing suites will allow his staff to conduct rehabilitative therapy and long-term care in house, as opposed to sending residents elsewhere for those services.

The assisted living residents currently occupying the suites will be transitioned to Spring Valley, or to another area of the Willis Avenue Campus over the coming months. Construction on the rooms is scheduled to begin this fall, and PLH hopes to have everything finished by early 2020. Once complete, the nursing home anticipates hiring three additional staff members, and there will also be open house and ribbon cutting events to celebrate the renovated facilities.