Lawrence Group, St. Paul’s Home for the Aged, Belleville

   Lawrence Group has been working with the St. Paul’s Home for the Aged to design a new skilled nursing community in Belleville. Construction documents have been completed, and St. Paul’s is currently working on financing the project.
   The home, which opened in 1926, is a collaborative effort between St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Christ Church, Trinity Church and the local community. It’s licensed by the state of Illinois and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a Title XVIII (Medicare) and Title XIX (Medicaid) provider. St. Andrew’s Management Services has managed the home since 2005. In addition to skilled nursing and assisted living, the home also offers independent living apartments.  
   Lawrence Group principal Susan Bruker says the new skilled nursing community is designed around the person-centered care model. Person-centered care is a new concept of care; it’s not a typical institutional model of nursing home care, but rather a more homelike environment where residents have a say in their day-to-day lives in a setting that closely resembles their homes. The goal of the new St. Paul’s Home is to create a physical environment designed to support this new culture of caring that focuses on the whole person, addressing his or her physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual and occupational needs.
   Bruker says the center for socialization and nutrition in your home is your kitchen, not the nurse station.
   In the new design, there will be six households of approximately 22 people each; each household will have full kitchens, dining rooms, hearth rooms, spas and dedicated staffing. The idea behind the dedicated staff, she says, is to create stronger bonds between the clients and their caregivers. The open kitchens create the activities and aromas that provide a sense of home.  
   Phase 1 (90,000 square feet), scheduled to be completed in Spring 2015, includes 90 skilled nursing beds, 18 memory care and 26 sheltered care apartments. Phase 2 will include some renovation to the existing apartments and Phase 3 will include the demolition of the old structure.   
   Lawrence Group is providing architecture, interior design and furniture, fixtures and equipment services. Hercules Construction Management is the owner’s representative/construction manager, and BSI Constructors Inc. is the general contractor for the project.