Columbine Health to replace aging nursing home

Columbine Health Systems plans to replace its 46-year-old Columbine Care Center East nursing home with a new $12 million facility in southeast Fort Collins.

The new project, planned for a 3.3-acre site at 4824 S. Lemay Ave., will keep the Columbine East name. But little else will stay the same, including the location.

In its current form, Columbine Care Center East, located at 421 Parker St., spans about 28,000 square feet and is licensed for 102 beds.

The reincarnated Columbine East will stand two-stories tall and cover 90,000 square feet of floor space. Plans call for 131 beds.

The existing Columbine East, which opened in 1959, has become outdated and can’t accommodate modern nursing care demands, a company official said.

“We can’t have too many oxygen concentrators on, or we blow circuits,´ said Yvonne Myers, director of community relations for Columbine Health Systems.

Columbine East’s small dimensions also limit the number of private rooms to four. The new Columbine East will feature 56 private rooms.

The new building will also allow Columbine Health Systems to develop a bariatric care wing.

Bariatric patients suffer from extreme obesity. Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins has become known for its gastric bypass surgery to treat obesity. As a result, the need for pre- or post-surgical care for such patients is growing, Myers said.

“From an insurance standpoint, it costs a lot less money to place someone in long-term care facility for rehabilitation, than it does to put them in a hospital,” she said.

The new Columbine East center will be designed with “I” beams in the ceiling to support lifts needed for such patients, who can weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

“We’ll also have wider doorways, larger bathrooms and reinforced floors,” Myers said.

Contingent upon approval by city officials, the new Columbine East project could come under construction by August. The project should take 14 months to build.

In addition to the bariatric wing, Columbine East will continue to serve Alzheimer’s disease patients. The existing center provides 12 beds in the Alzheimer’s unit, which will be duplicated in the new center.

The expansion and relocation of Columbine East appears to underline Columbine Health Systems’ confidence in the elder care sector. Over the past 15 years Columbine Health owner Bob Wilson has built up a broad elder care network in Fort Collins and Loveland with assisted living centers, independent living centers, nursing homes and home health services, and rehabilitation services. In all, the company operates nine facilities in Northern Colorado.

Currently, Columbine Health is building a 94-unit independent living facility called The Winslow in Fort Collins. The building is expected to open by September at the main Columbine Health campus, located in the Centre for Advanced Technology.

Demand for senior citizen housing and services has mushroomed in Northern Colorado as the area has become identified among the nation’s top retirement communities.

Furthermore, demographic shifts in the overall population mean a growing population that could require elder care services.

According to the MetLife Mature Market Institute, there were 35 million people in the United States over the age of 65 as of 2003. That number is expected to double by 2030. That market potential has triggered a flurry of activity in Northern Colorado.

The new Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital is under construction in Johnstown. In addition to Columbine’s projects, new more independent living facilities are under construction or on the drawing board in Fort Collins. Elder care projects are also in the works in Greeley, Loveland and Windsor.

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