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Ryan Howard/Daily Journal PioneerCare Center’s suites provide individualized enhanced care.

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PioneerCare Center’s new suites [UPDATED]

Monday marked the beginning of a new form of services from PioneerCare in Fergus Falls, but the fanfare that has accompanied previous landmarks for the organization was nowhere to be found. Instead, the opening of the PioneerCare Suites was ushered in simply, with Keith and Jo Cole taking up residency in two of the 10 new rooms.

“It looks like it will work for me,” Keith said with a smile.

Construction began in August on Pioneer Suites, which are located in the south wing of PioneerCare’s original location of Sheridan Avenue. The organization has been looking at how to repurpose and remodel the building since plans began to move residents into the new, bigger building on Mabelle Avenue, which happened in Summer of 2011.

The PioneerCare Suites are an “enhanced assisted living” facility, described by Marketing Director Steve Guttormson as level of care in between typical assisted living and nursing home care. He said the differing levels of care allows for all PioneerCare residents to find the living situation that fits them best.

“They move up and down the ladder depending on who they are,” said Guttormson.

For example, PioneerCare Suite residents have access to two-person transfers, a procedure in which two caregivers will help move a resident from a bed to a chair or any other helpful movements. Care staff can also help residents who have a strict and complicated regimen of medications. Both of these things might not be offered at a typical assisted living facility.

“We’re going to be staffed to be able to handle that,” said Guttormson.

However, PioneerCare Suites also allow for more independent living than a nursing home, which kitchenettes in the rooms (three meals a day will still be offered for residents who want them) and less intensive therapies. Each suite also has a sitting area for residents.

The Coles’ daughter, Kristi Boe, said PioneerCare Suites were the best fit for her parents, who just finished a hospital stay via a nursing home. Her parents are not staying in the actual suites; rather, they are receiving the same level of care while staying in a couple of studio rooms.

“My dad likes TV and sports, and my mom likes quiet,” said Boe. Likening the in-between level of care as filling a “void” in the community, she said the setup at PioneerCare Suites allows her parents to live in the same place while they both have their individual needs attended to.

“I love it,” said Jo. “It’s really a nice place.”

Jo visited the original building back when it housed residents as PioneerCare’s main facility.

“It really is a nice improvement,” she said.

“We’ve been considering this for probably a good year, pretty much since we started preparing for a move to the new building,” Guttormson said of the suites. “This is one of the pieces we felt we could offer.”

Other plans and ideas are in the works for other parts of the building. One that should be starting in March at the earliest is adult daycare services for people who need supervision for only part of the day. PioneerCare used to offer the service but ended up stopping after space became an issue. With the move of the organization’s main care operation to the new building, the opportunity to offer day services returned.

Some parts of the building are still in limbo. Currently without a set purpose is the original building’s west wing, but Guttormson said it could become a part of PioneerCare Suites if demand is high. Nine of the PioneerCare Suites rooms have already been reserved, and the south wing remodel will ultimately create 18 rooms, with a capacity for 22 people (if couples want to share a suite).

“We’re kind of watching how this goes as far as how quickly we see this fill up,” Guttormson said.