New nursing home hosts open house

Nov. 21--OTTAWA -- The Meadows of Ottawa held an open house Thursday in anticipation of moving into its new building in early December.

The $13 million project was recently completed in a deal struck with Trilogy Health Services, LLC and county officials. The new center will have room for 86 residents and another 32 residents in the assisted living/memory care neighborhood.

Meadows of Ottawa Executive Director Jim Sherry said the building reflects an improvement in care in many areas.

"There are many more common areas for the residents to relax," Sherry said. "People will have their own bathrooms and we will be able to age and place people together better."

Sherry said that the center will benefit from the location because it will be able to readily use the YMCA and the county library, which are located on the same road. He said appliances are also much more efficient, and lights turn off automatically in rooms if not used for an extended period.

"We are about as green as we can be," Sherry said.

In fall 2013, the Putnam County commissioners announced Trilogy would take over operations at Putnam Acres Care Center, the county-owned nursing home. Trilogy also took over operations of The Meadows of Ottawa-Glandorf and combined the two homes into one new building.

Once the new Trilogy facility officially opens, the county will retain ownership of the Putnam Acres building and land and will also become owners of the O-G Meadows building and 5.9 acres across the street from O-G Meadows once this facility is vacated. Trilogy has also agreed to retain 85 percent of the employees at Putnam Acres.

Several options are being considered for the two buildings. For now, Putnam County Commissioner Travis Jerwers said the Putnam Acres facility will be used for storing county records. He said it is a plus for the county because other spots used for storing the records were located in flood plains. He said the county could now store the records in one, safe place.

"This was the first step in a process that was important to us," Jerwers said. "Our number one concern was having a safe place for the residents. Now we can go on to the next step."

Jerwers said no decisions have been made on what the permanent use of the buildings will be.

Sherry said 31 residents were brought to the facility on Monday, and they were all ready to move.

"Everyone is more than excited," Sherry said. "They are ready to get out here."

After a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, attendees were given refreshments and dinner and could take guided tours of the facility.

Reach Lance Mihm at 419-670-4654 or at Twitter@LanceMihm

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