Highlands Health & Rehab broke ground on a new skilled nursing care center Friday, October 31.
The new building in Scottsboro will replace Highlands’ current location in the same city. The Jackson County Health Care Authority (JCHCA) is developing the center.
The North wing of the 50-bed skilled nursing center will contain 11 private units is dedicated to short-term rehab, i.e., physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The two other wings are dedicated to traditional long-term care, and contain rooms sized for future semi-private occupancy.
“It’s been a long time coming and much awaited,” Highlands Health & Rehab Administrator Bo Butler said. “The staff and the community are very excited and proud that we’re getting a new facility. We look forward to continuing to care for the people of our community for years to come in this new facility.”
Currently, a total of 45 private and 5 semi-private units are indicated on the plans. The one-story building will cover 31,000 square feet. Construction is expected to take 10 to 11 months.
“The culture of the elderly population is changing,” Butler added. “This addresses their wants of private rooms and provides more space for therapy.”
The facility is designed with a central dining area, large multi-purpose room, administrative offices, and a central nurse’s station with requisite support spaces, including clean and soiled utility rooms, janitor room, nourishment room, pharmacy/med preparation and a wheelchair/stretcher storage room. Hoar Construction will serve as the project’s general contractor.
“Hoar Construction is proud to be part of the Highlands Health & Rehab project and excited to participate in the groundbreaking activities for this new development,” said Nick Cotumaccio, Director of Operations. “ We have put a great deal of effort into the preconstruction process working with Highlands Health and Rehab and the consultants to ensure this project, when complete, will offer patients the best possible facilities to provide quality care.”
About Highlands Health & Rehab:
Highlands Health & Rehab is a licensed 50-bed skilled nursing care center located in Scottsboro. Bo Butler is the Administrator and Laura Olinger is the Director of Nursing. The center offers physical, speech and occupational therapy as well as long term care.
About Hoar Construction:
Hoar Construction, established in 1940, has offices in Birmingham, Houston, Austin, Orlando, Nashville, and Washington, D.C. The firm provides professional services in General Construction, Construction Management, Design/Build and Program Management, serving clients in healthcare, retail, commercial, government, and industrial markets. Hoar currently has projects in 12 states.
Editor’s Note: Hoar Construction contributed to this article.
