Green Valley welcomes residents to new $10 M facility

Sep. 2--POTTSVILLE -- Green Valley Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center welcomed residents to its new $10 million facility on Aug. 12 in North Manheim Township.

However, a formal ribbon-cutting has to wait.

Families, too, have been waiting to be reunited with loved ones, restricted from visiting many nursing homes in person due to the coronavirus pandemic.

An investment from Senior Health Care Solutions, Scranton, created a secure, state-of-the-art space for residents needing long- and short-term care and also generated jobs in Schuylkill County, developers said Tuesday.

"It's the newest constructed nursing home in the commonwealth," according to Michael P. Kelly, president of SHCS, which has constructed more than 20 facilities across northeast and central Pennsylvania.

Kelly and Susan Keefer, principal partner, said the 42,000-square-foot center is a "bed replacement facility" authorized through the state Department of Health for the former Friendly Nursing Home in Pitman. Developers have been planning the new center over the past five years, Keefer said.

The facility's technology provides the most current medical data recording available, in real time, so nurses immediately know everyone's condition, Kelly said.

Twenty residents and 19 staff members from the Pitman location made the move to the Pottsville site.

"When they moved in, it made it all worth it," Kelly said. "They ate breakfast in the old building and then ate lunch here. We had to coordinate the transportation, and line all the ambulances up, but it went smoothly."

Right now, Green Valley is using FaceTime and Skype apps to help residents connect remotely with their families.

Green Valley hired an additional 40 full-time employees, including nursing, ancillary, dietary, housekeeping and office personnel, according to Kelly. Cindy Walk serves as administrator; Theresa Brennan, nursing director; and Shanna Wertz, admissions director.

The center is COVID-19-free, Kelly said, noting Green Valley follows all DOH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

In May, the Pennsylvania National Guard brought personal protective equipment and training to Green Valley's Pitman facility, and several other centers throughout the state, to assist in response to the pandemic and positive cases of the coronavirus among residents and staff. Kelly at the time called it an "extraordinary situation."

The old nursing center is no longer being used and the building will be sold, according to Kelly.

48 beds, bistro

Crews from L&K Construction, Pottsville, broke ground for the new center in May 2019. Located at 1 Matthew Lane in the Seiders Hill Development along the Gordon Nagle Trail, the 48-bed facility has 16 private rooms and 16 semi-private suites. Security cameras add additional safety, and the center has a 62-space parking lot.

Keefer said residents have spacious private rooms, flat-screen TVs, Wi-Fi and adaptable beds. There's a bistro cafe, full-service beauty salon, spa, massage therapy room and gym for rehabilitation.

"Our ultimate goal is to get people back home," Kelly said.

Green Valley will also obtain an outpatient license, which will eventually allow someone who is not a resident to come to the facility to receive rehab services.

Space is available for new residents by calling Wertz at 570-644-0489.

For more information, visit seniorhealthpa.com.

Contact the writer:[email protected]; 570-628-6007

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