HOLMEN, Wisconsin (WXOW) - The Bluffview Memory Care Facility in Holmen will begin services August 1st. On Friday, July 27, area residents got a first look.
About 80 community members attended the ribbon cutting and open house. Officials gave tours of the 60 room facility, which will serve patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Leaders say the facility creates jobs in Holmen and offers safety and independence for patients in need of memory care.
"In our case we have two interior courtyards so people can go out safely and have some degree of monitoring," said Covenant Care President Jack Halbleib. "And in nice weather and depending on their capabilities, they may even be able to exit into the courtyard independently."
Halbleib says memory care patients need protection because they seek and explore. Bluffview features alarmed doors and can be sectioned into four quadrants in case of an incident.
"We think we have a flexible design, a safe design, and a design that promotes people's ability to walk, to explore, and to interact with others in a safe environment," Halbleib said.
The project was two years in the making with a lot of local support. Holmen Village President Nancy Proctor estimates that Bluffview will create about 35 jobs in Holmen, primarily in specialty fields.
"I've had people calling me for months wanting to know who they could talk to about get a position here. So there's a lot of interest in the community," Proctor said. "And it isn't just (specialized labor), it's everything from cooking to housekeeping to whatever they need."
Proctor said keeping the project localized was important for Holmen.
"A nice thing is that the general contractor, Empire Development--they're from Holmen. So it's nice to know that a local company got the job here," Proctor said.
