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Assisted Living Center to Undergo Changes, Add Jobs
A local longtime assisted living facility will undergo some major changes over the next several years, but that could ultimately mean good things for both residents and the community.

St. Mary's Square Living Center will, in a sense, be closing, but that's because the board of directors of its parent organization, Community Residential Centers, has decided to transition the 225 residents in the facility into much smaller, eight-bed locations at sites to be determined.

St. Mary's Square Administrator Bobby Dillard tells WGIL the move is part of what he says is a transition of sorts that's been going on for literally decades.

"It's actually a national trend at this time to actually take large facilities and to make them smaller and more home-like," Dillard said. "The de-institutional movement started in the 1960's, so it's been going on for almost 50 years or longer. It's always felt by advocates that a smaller facility is a more home-like environment."

Dillard says that the quality of life ends up being better in such facilities.

Dillard says it will be at least three-years before a transition is complete -- land needs to be found for such homes and construction still needs to be done. He says all 250-plus staff will be retained, with possibly 100 more people being needed.
06 02 11 by Newsroom
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