Generations at Lincoln closes non-medical apartments as start of renovation

[May 25, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

Lincoln's leading skilled nursing facility is having a strong year in 2018. This spring, state inspectors gave the Generations at Lincoln building and its staff their highest review rating, and the facility's new management firm has announced plans for an extensive renovation. That renovation will include the closure of the ancillary, non-medical apartments that occupy two separate buildings on the property.

Located at 2202 N. Kickapoo St., Generations at Lincoln offers rehabilitation, intravenous therapy, wound care and pain management, short-term stays and hospice; it is also one of a select number of facilities in central Illinois to offer ventilator, tracheostomy and respiratory programs. Formerly known as Symphony of Lincoln, the building came under new ownership and management on Jan. 1. It is licensed to care for up to 126 residents in its primary, medical building; adjacent to the building stand 40 apartment units which serve no medical capacity and could be rented by anyone in the public.

Because the building has new ownership and management, the Illinois Department of Public Health sent inspectors to perform a surprise review; the team of five surveyors showed up on April 2 and worked in the building until April 4. The result of their inspection was a "deficiency-free review," in which they found no violations of state health codes. The state had assigned Generations at Lincoln a probationary license on Jan. 1, when the new management began, but the result of this flawless review was a full operations license, which went into effect on May 1.

“It’s a testament to the hard work of our staff," said Jason Young, Senior Vice President of Operations at Generations Healthcare Network, LLC, which consults to the facility. "It’s a spectacular feeling. One of the things we preach is being survey-ready, every day.”

But Young, newly hired administrator Miranda Witt (who began her tenure in May) and the rest of the staff will soon have a thoroughly renovated building to keep survey-ready. Generations is in the planning phase with an architectural firm for a significant refreshing of the medical facility and the grounds around it; while specifics have not been finalized, the upgrade will increase the staff's ability to serve residents with complex medical conditions, and give all of the residents a more soothing environment to regain health and wellness while receiving quality care.

The first phase of the project has already begun, with the closure of the 40 apartments, which were built to the east of the medical building by a previous owner and are not licensed to deliver any kind of medical services. Only 13 of those units were occupied when Generations took over management of the property, and their tenants received hand-delivered notices on May 1 that their leases would be terminated on May 31.

Generations did not collect rent from any of the tenants for the month of May. The firm has also never held any of their security deposits, but has already helped 12 of the 13 to be reimbursed by the past owners who did hold them.

Young said the leadership of Generations chose to close the apartments so they could focus exclusively on delivering health care at its newest location.

"These are regular apartments, with no connection to our medical services," Young said. "We aren't a property management firm, and we want to concentrate our energy on those we're caring for."

Construction of the renovation does not have a starting date yet. Generations at Lincoln's new operating license will be in effect until April 30, 2020; inspectors are scheduled to make their annual survey during another surprise visit, sometime this fall or winter. Once renovations are completed Generations at Lincoln will invite the community in to see the transformation and learn more about the quality care that the staff is committed to offering.

[Ronnie Wachter
Communications manager for Generations Healthcare Network]