Alexian Village of Tennessee plans $22.6 million nursing home

photo Alexian Village of Tennessee on Signal Mountain. Google Maps.

ALEXIAN VILLAGE

Started in 1936Located on Signal MountainSeveral options for long- and short-term stay, including a 114-bed nursing home facilityNearly 600 clients overallSource: Alexian Village of Tennessee

Alexian Village of Tennessee is expected to submit a $22.6 million proposal to replace its nursing home and move it about 370 feet away from its current location.

Located on Signal Mountain's brow, the 114-bed nursing home would be moved from 671 Alexian Way to 622 Alexian Way, a public notice in Monday's Times Free Press stated.

Matt Fox, chief executive officer for Alexian, did not return several calls for comment.

The state must approve any nursing home renovation in excess of $2 million, even if the business is a faith-based nonprofit such as Alexian.

"There will be no change in the number of beds at the facility, no new services will be initiated and no services will be discontinued," according to the newspaper notice.

The legal notice does not include a timeline for work on the replacement project.

Alexian is expected to submit its proposal, also known as a certificate of need, by Friday. After submission, the proposal becomes public record and goes to the Tennessee Department of Health for a 60-day review, according to Melanie Hill, executive director of the state's Health Services and Development Agency.

Assuming no hold-ups, the agency's 11-member board will make a decision on the proposal Jan. 25 in Nashville, Hill said.

If other health institutions or private citizens want to oppose the project, they can do so in writing, she said, "or they can stand up and say so at the January meeting."

According to a federal nursing home rating system, Alexian's nursing home earned a "below average" score -- two stars out of five -- in quality measures. Problem areas included high numbers of urinary tract infections, bladder control issues and long-term patients who "spend most of their time in bed or in a chair," the rating system states.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, federal agency that conducted the 2010 survey, indicated that structural and space concerns can play a sizable role in medical quality measures.

A quality checklist for nursing home patients includes the following questions: "Is the temperature in the nursing home comfortable for residents?" and "Does the nursing home appear clean and well kept?"

Alexian did not have any "fire safety deficiencies" in the existing nursing home, according to the survey, while an average nursing home in Tennessee has three fire safety deficiencies.

Contact staff writer Chris Carroll at ccarroll@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6610.

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