Nursing facility to have home-like atmosphere

BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — A proposed skilled care nursing facility has made a favorable impression on the members of the Freehold Township Planning Board.

Following a public hearing on Feb. 19, the board instructed its attorney to prepare a positive resolution on an application filed by the Village for Health Care and Rehabilitation of Workman’s Circle.

The resolution to approve the project will be voted on at an upcoming meeting of the board.

The application for preliminary and final site plan approval for the facility was presented by attorney Rick Brodsky, of the firm Ansell, Zaro, Grimm and Aaron, Ocean Township.

Plans call for the construction of a twostory skilled care nursing facility containing 152 beds for long-term care and sub-acute care (short-term rehabilitation) on a 13-acre parcel in a CMX-2 zone past the current dead end of Gibson Place.

Gibson Place is off Route 537 near the Route 33 bypass.

A plan for the skilled care nursing facility had previously been rejected by the Freehold Township Zoning Board of Adjustment when it was proposed to be con- structed at the intersection of Halls Mill Road and Route 33. The board declined to grant a variance to permit the facility at that location.

The skilled care nursing facility is a permitted use on Gibson Place and that is why the application was heard by the Planning Board at this time.

According to a report from Thomas A. Thomas, professional planer for the township, “The Route 33 right-of-way is located along the northern property boundary, while along the southwestern property boundary, residential lots are located on Oakley Drive. The eastern portion of the site is adjacent to the Radisson Hotel” on Gibson Place.

Testifying on behalf of the applicant was engineer Robert J. Curly, of CMX Engineering, Manalapan. According to Curley, the building will have 152 private rooms and 80 parking spaces, primarily for staff members.

A generator for emergency use will be at the rear of the building. Curley said the generator should not cause any noise issues since it will only be used in emergency situations and is tested once a week for 20 minutes.

He said the testing is always done in the middle of the day and never in the early morning or late evening.

A trash bin that had been planned at the rear of the building was relocated at the request of a resident who spoke during the public hearing.

Curley said trash pick-ups would not be made early in the morning.

The plan also calls for a large buffer of pine trees and an 8-foot tall berm to keep the facility private and so as not to become a disturbance to residents who live on Oakley Drive.

Also testifying on behalf of the applicant was Marshall Goldberg, the nursing home administrator for a nursing care facility in Elizabeth since 1974.

Goldberg will be the administrator of the Freehold Township facility. He said he takes pride in the home-like, non-institutional environment the skilled care nursing facility will offer.

He said the idea is to have the private resident rooms clustered around a living room area, which he said is the center core of the design plan. Some living spaces will have 16 resident rooms around a core center, others will have 12 resident rooms around a core center.

Materials to be used for the exterior of the building will include stone and stucco. The front of the building will have a covered canopy.

The first floor of the building will be comprised of 54,000 square feet with bedrooms, the kitchen and the living room areas. Also on the first floor will be resident amenities such as a library, beauty shop, gift shop and activity rooms The second floor will be comprised of 54,000 square feet to include bedrooms and administrative offices.

The structure appears to be more like a residential property with a Colonial design and unique architectural features, according to project architect Judith Mumma, of Nadaskay Kopelson Architects, Morristown.

Mumma explained that the model used to design The Village is called Greenhouse, a new concept in senior care which emphasizes home-like houses with between 10 and 16 residents, rather than institutional beds and corridors.

“This is loosely based on that model,” she told the board. “Residents will eat in their own dining room with just those in their house, not everyone in the building. This provides a safer, cozier environment.”

The model for the Greenhouse concept has the “homes” detached and completely separated. The homes for The Village give the appearance of standing alone as separate homes, but people can walk from one end of the building to the other inside.

There area no visible nursing stations, but rather a home-like center living room with a team room where nurses and aides will conference with patients in a safe environment. Medications and treatment carts are stored in those areas, but will be behind closed doors and not visible, according to the testimony provided to the board.

“The building is residential in scale with residential windows and dormers,” Mumma said, adding that the exterior colors of the building will be beige and brown.

One resident of Oakley Drive expressed concern about the placement of the trash bin and also about water pressure. He said the water pressure in his home is low now and was concerned that situation will worsen when the nursing care facility is built.

Township Engineer Josh Mavuro said he was not aware of the water pressure problem, but said he would look into it.

The applicant agreed to change the location of the trash bin so that it will not be on the side of the building closest to Oakley Drive.

Mumma said the applicant should be ready to start construction of the skilled care nursing facility in the fall.