Visible Changes Apparent at Tipton
The Tipton construction/renovation project is really picking up steam. Much progress has been made over the past 2 months and the facility’s transformation is happening at a very nice pace.
The building’s front exterior has received a dramatic facelift boasting new vinyl siding with beautiful stone accenting, new windows, new roof and a completely new front entrance. The new entrance and lobby area has a 2-story feel with plant ledges above on both sides. There is also a cupola above the lobby, which allows sunlight to shine through during the day and show off as a beautiful night light to the outside at dark. This front entrance is completely framed and will soon receive drywall and other finish work. Once complete, with a new front parking lot and sidewalks also being added, this new front entrance will be opened.
In the courtyard, the new kitchen has been framed and roofed and will be fully functional with all new appliances and cook wares in the next 4-6 weeks. We will also be pouring a new patio slab in the courtyard, which will support a beautiful new gazebo.
Construction of the first of two first floor dining rooms is also underway. This dining room will also show off over-head plant ledges on both sides, beautiful wood-like flooring and tasteful décor throughout. A new sound system is also being installed that will provide soft music in our dining areas, lobby areas, entrances, shower rooms and various other locations upstairs and down. Near this first dining room, a small quietroom/chapel is also being added, which will serve as a nice, peaceful meditation room for our residents and their families.
The floor of the new rehabilitation wing has recently been poured and construction of our state-of-the-art rehabilitation unit will soon be underway. This is also the wing where we will put in a 19’ X 19” therapeutic pool, a geriatric-engineered exercise gym and men’s and women’s locker rooms. These facilities will be open to the community.
As many of you have noticed, we have added a tunnel that connects our north and south units inside the facility. These were added to provide a safe means of traversing back and forth through these units for our staff and residents, while construction workers continue performing their magic on both sides of the tunnel and overhead. Another “cut-through” was also recently added in our main dining room. This was constructed to provide a means of getting necessary equipment and materials into our courtyard area, while serving as a safe barrier for our staff and residents. Once the courtyard construction is complete, this cut-through will be taken down.
Room renovations are also underway. Four rooms on our north unit are complete and residents will soon be moving back in to them. These rooms received new paint, chair rail, new doors, new lighting in the room and bathroom, new bathroom faucets and mirrors, new automatic soap dispensers, suspended ceilings, new windows and faux wood blinds. New flooring and carpet will be added later in the project. Our private rooms will also be receiving new flat-screen televisions mounted on the walls, at a later date.
In the next couple of weeks, we will be moving our Alzheimer’s Unit to our newly renovated north hall. This will allow us to provide a quieter and less “busy” environment for the residents residing on this unit, as the traffic through their halls will be greatly reduced. This will also allow us to eliminate most of the keypad magnetic-locked doors throughout the rest of the facility, which will provide for quicker and easier passage for our residents, families and our staff.
One other recent improvement is that a new, attractive Miller’s Merry Manor sign was recently installed on the south side of our building. It has a marquee that will allow us to communicate various messages to our visitors and the community.
