Posted: 7/6/04
Lutheran Home sold
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The Lutheran Home in Caledonia has been sold to Ostrander Nursing Home and Assisted Living in Ostrander, Minnesota.
Ostrander is located about 60 miles west of Caledonia.
The announcement came on June 29 from The Lutheran Home Association in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, which had owned the Caledonia facility since 1991 when it was purchased from Franciscan Skemp.
The new facility will be called Caledonia Care and Rehab. The sale includes the skilled care nursing home, All Seasons Adult Day Care, the Home Delivered Meals, and Lifeline Personal Response System programs, Roseview Court, and Buckley Apartments. The transfer took effect on July 1.
About 110 people work at the facility. All 50 nursing home beds are full.
Grant Thayer is the administrator and partial owner of the Ostrander facility, which has 43 beds and is building an assisted living addition.
He said on July 2 that people will see very few changes with the new ownership in Caledonia. The same management team will stay in place. Pastor Roger Van Hoff was let go in the transition.
Thayer had a lot of praise for the current staff. ìTheyíre to be thanked in the care theyíve given the residents,î he said. ìThereís a lot of good people here taking care of a lot of good people. People should not be alarmed by this change. Iím sure it will be a positive thing.î
He said that the Caledonia campus was a smaller piece in the cog with The Lutheran Home Association, but will be in the forefront of his company.
Remodeling planned
One long-range plan he has is to remodel the nursing home and convert the rooms to single-occupancy. He envisions 50-58 of them. ìThatís the biggest indicator of residence satisfaction in a nursing home,î he explained. ìWeíre trying to answer that call.î
The new name, with the word ìrehabî in it, is also a reflection of the direction his and other nursing homes are going. ìWeíre seeing shorter and shorter stays in nursing homes,î he said. People come in for briefer stays after things like knee surgery or hip replacement.
The Lutheran Home was a non-profit company, and Caledonia Care and Rehab is a for-profit company. But that fact should not raise concerns with people, Thayer said. ìThat has very little impact,î he said, noting there are good and bad for-profit nursing homes and good and bad not-for-profit ones. He noted that he was approached to buy the facility by The Lutheran Home Association, and not vice versa.
And why did they buy it? Thayer had several answers to that, such as having a good staff in place, and being in a progressive, beautiful city. ìI think itís a great community here, itís a growing community, a vibrant community.î
He was impressed as well that the campus had a full continuum of care, from independent apartments to a skilled facility.
Thayer added that he wants to work with local vendors as much as possible because thatís important to the local economy.
Nursing home administrator Lloyd Swalve, who is staying on in his position, said he and his staff are pleased to see that the new owners are interested in converting the double-occupancy rooms to single occupancy.
The nursing home presently has 15 private rooms, but it could be converted to a 50-private-room facility, Swalve said.
ìThat would be a positive,î he said. ìItís a positive in a sense that that is what people are expecting in coming to a nursing home. People want the privacy.î He called this an industry trend, and the State of Minnesota has already granted the nursing home the authority to make that change.
ìThis community does continue to need this nursing home, but with a different emphasis than it was in the past.î Swalve added. ìWe anticipate good days ahead.î
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com