Franklin United Methodist Community: Continuing to Care - Health Executive - RedCoat Publishing - Inside Healthcare

One year after its 50th anniversary, faith-based CCRC Franklin United Methodist Community is investing $13 million in facilities upgrades. Located in Franklin, Ind., FUMC is one of the largest single-site CCRCs in the country, and in the last couple of years, its health center has been running at more than 90% capacity. In addition to a growing active patient population, it became clear to Dr. Joe Trueblood, executive director and CEO, that the time to expand was at hand.

Dr. Joe Trueblood, executive director and CEO

“Our health center was at capacity for a couple of days last year. For a CCRC, that’s not a good thing,” said Trueblood. “In addition, more health center beds creates more revenue to help pay for the other aspects of our expansion project. The timing is right to make it all come together.”

Changes to the health center, which currently houses 180 licensed beds and three step-down Alzheimer’s units, will include constructing a wing to add 28 new beds to the health center, remodeling the health center dining rooms, installing new floor coverings, upgrading the windows, ceilings, lights, and tiles, painting all apartments, and upgrading the air conditioning units. The project will also expand a wellness center opened in 2007. Because the age and youthful spirit of FUMC’s residents has changed, the popularity of the wellness center has been greater than initially expected. Consequently, the exercise spaces in the wellness center will be expanded.

The main part of FUMC’s $13 million expansion, however, revolves around Wesley Center, the CCRC’s apartment building. Opened in 1957, Wesley Center was designed with painted concrete blocks as walls. To create an environment as healing as FUMC’s faith-based culture, the building will be redesigned with new walls, doors trimmed with wood rather than metal, and new ceilings, lighting structures, hand rails, and carpeting.

“We’re renovating that building from the inside out,” said Trueblood. “We’re adding sprinkling, replacing 50-year-old boilers with high-efficiency gas boilers, and replacing the hot water system with high-efficiency hot water heaters.”

The last phases of the construction project will include renovations to the 120-acre campus’ main lobby and dining room. In one of the main courtyards, FUMC plans on building a new dining area, which will more than double the square footage and increase seating capacity by 25%. In long-term care, said Trueblood, a pleasant dining experience is more than having choice; it’s about maneuvering comfortably. “With all of the walkers and other technologies, an expanded dining area will enable our residents to move around easier,” he said.

The existing dining room, which will be adjacent to the new dining area, will turn into an expanded lobby and will include a fireplace, handicap-accessible restrooms, and lounge seating for residents and family members to gather before meals. In an attempt to honor the age of the building while creating a modern atmosphere, Trueblood gave the architects specific instructions.

“I asked them to think in terms of a grand old hotel remodel, and the new lobby design will achieve that goal,” he said. “We’re replacing all 600 exterior windows with high-energy-efficiency double-pane windows to give our exterior a modern but classical look as well.”

Driving the bus
In the past few years, FUMC has added between five and 10 independent housing cottages each year. With more than 200 of the units on its campus today, FUMC’s culture has undergone a significant change.

“We have a much younger and more active retirement community than we’ve had in the past,” said Trueblood. “It creates a volunteer pool to help with those who need assistance in our assisted living and nursing areas, but it’s also changed the way we develop activities.”

Activities at FUMC range all the way from a classic Bingo night to day trips and plans for a 12-day trip to take residents to the 2010 Oberammergau Passion Play in Germany. Consequently, when hiring caregivers and executive team members, Trueblood looks at more than clinical capability; he takes a page from Jim Collins’ book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t and picks people capable of driving the FUMC bus in the right direction.

“We’re inundated with MDS (minimum data set) and other industry regulations, all of which tend to get in the way of just taking care of residents,” he said. “Our director of nursing and our assistant director of nursing were surveyors, for example. They know what Medicare and Medicaid are looking for as well as MDS regulations, which means our other staff members can devote more attention to the residents.”

Investments in software have also given FUMC employees more time to do what they do best: care for and interact with residents. In early 2007, the CCRC began using Silver Chair, a Web-based service to which employees can easily connect, whether at home or at work, to take their in-service trainings. By using Silver Chair, FUMC eliminated trainers and the hours staff had to dedicate to take the numerous in-services, which can add up to 25 a year per employee.

“Our greatest challenges stem from outside components, such as regulatory paperwork and training, not from trying to maintain a faith-based and caring culture,” said Trueblood. “From the very beginning, our mission has been clearly stated: to provide a retirement experience filled with wellbeing and wholeness. Everyone who walks through our doors knows we care for them, and that will continue to differentiate us as we move through another 50 years of success.”

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