St. Elizabeth’s new assisted living facility aims to keep residents in Carroll County

The+entrance+to+the+new+assisted+living+facility+of+St.+Elizabeth+is+shown.+After+14+months+since+breaking+ground%2C+the+addition+is+finally+complete%2C+and+is+ready+to+begin+moving+residents+in.

Jordan Ladd

The entrance to the new assisted living facility of St. Elizabeth is shown. After 14 months since breaking ground, the addition is finally complete, and is ready to begin moving residents in.

St. Elizabeth, a local nursing home in Delphi, has recently opened up the doors of its new $4.5 million assisted living facility. Paid for by Trilogy Health Services, a premier healthcare company in the Midwest, St. Elizabeth was chosen from multiple facilities to receive the new residential area.

Assisted living is defined as “a safe environment for loved ones to be with 24-hour nursing care and all the amenities of a hotel.” Basically, it’s apartments with 24-hour nurses. For elderly people, sometimes it just makes more sense to live somewhere where 24-hour care is provided. St. Elizabeth is opening up the opportunity to have that here.

The new addition has taken about 14 months from start to finish. Groundbreaking was held in September of 2017, and the ribbon cutting was a couple weeks ago. Amber Beatty, Community Service Representative for St. E, says the hope is to start moving residents in in about two weeks. “We’re going to have some people come in and stay the winter, and then make the decision as to whether or not they want stay here longer.” As of right now, half of the 26 rooms are booked, with plans for the rest of the rooms to quickly become occupied.

The new assisted living area features a wide array of features: an activity and café center, a putting green, a fitness room, a restaurant style dining area, and a comfortable and welcoming lobby area are only some of the amenities offered by St. E. The new addition will also feature themed dinners, provide access to the beauty salon, and have a campus bus for fun outings.

The community involvement has been huge in the building of the addition. A Facebook poll was held to name areas of the addition, with areas like Oracle Café. Over 80 people came to the open house, and many local business owners have come and been interested in what has been going on,” says Beatty.

Beatty says her main goal for the addition is to allow county residents to stay in the county. “Before now, the only option people had like this was to go to Lafayette, or Monticello. Now, people won’t have to leave their hometown for this service. That’s a comfort for a lot of people.”

One thing that can benefit St. Elizabeth in general is an increased interest in  intergenerational activities. “If high schoolers came over and played cards, or even read to the residents, that would really make their day,” Beatty says. “Getting involved is one of the best things to do.”