2022 was a year for much demolition and new beginnings at Pleasantview. Over the last year, Pleasantview’s campus has changed greatly as the anticipation of new programs and new additions has been long building.

2023 will be the year of new beginnings and much celebration as the new additions begin to open. The first addition expected to open is the new stand-alone Friendship/Community Center. The Friendship
Center has many amenities, including a full-service kitchen which will eventually provide senior dining to the community; a wellness room; and a gathering space for 100 people with state-of-the-art audio/visual technology for presentations and performances. This will primarily be used for independent living activities, but Pleasantview invites the community to utilize the space as well.

In June, Pleasantview will welcome new residents into the fully renovated “Old Glory” (the original Pleasantview building). 28 assisted living apartments are currently fully framed and ready to be drywalled. The assisted living will offer studio and one-bedroom apartments with sizes ranging from 410-680 square feet. Assisted living is a wonderful home for those who wish to stay independent but like the idea of having access to assistance should they need it.

Shortly after the opening of assisted living, Pleasantview will open their long-awaited memory care facility. This will be a secured designated space for individuals who suffer with dementia illnesses. The memory care space, formally licensed as a Chronic Confusion and Dementia Illness unit (CCDI), will have 16 rooms and a secured courtyard. The idea of this space is for the residents to be able to live safely in their moment. Pleasantview’s staff will have extensive dementia training to be able to provide high quality care for those individuals. Currently, the memory care unit is fully constructed, enclosed, and framed. Plumbing and electrical work is taking place so drywall can begin shortly.

Pleasantview’s building and renovation project also includes a maintenance shop, the relocation of the main kitchen and dining room to be more centrally located, a bistro for all residents, visitors and staff to enjoy, the addition of six Medicare Suites to help facilitate skilled nursing/rehabilitation stays, and the old Friendship Center being remodeled into physical therapy rehab space. The entire project is projected to be complete in the Summer of 2024.

Pleasantview is eager to invite the community to join in the grand opening celebrations for all new areas, as well as preview events of the assisted living and memory care. Updates are available on Facebook (Pleasantview-Kalona, IA) or at www.PVKalona.com. For more information on the project or questions about their assisted living and memory care waiting lists, please contact Marketing Director, Mikayla Fisher, at mfisher@pvkalona.com or 319-656-2421.

Pleasantview looks forward to serving more individuals in 2023!

For residents, staff and visitors, activity is taking place in all directions, be it from the west, north, east and inside. The noise is a constant reminder of the progress, as is the visible change no matter which window one looks out of.

 

A brief recap of the major components (as of today) follows:

Friendship/Community Center  –  a stand-alone facility with a capacity of 100+ persons, a full kitchen, office space, restrooms and a small fitness center. The structure is built and a partial brick siding is in process. This facility will serve our Independent Living (IL) community as well as the community at large. Senior dining? Other senior services and activities? The impetus for this facility is the re-purposing of the original (more below). It is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.

 

Assisted Living  –  when complete, this facility will house 28 AL apartments, a renovation that spans the top two levels of Pleasantview’s original building on the east side. There will be one-bedroom and studio apartments available, with a few differing square footage options. All will feature kitchenettes. Also included in the transformation are two lounge/gathering spaces (one on each floor) and a remodel of the existing dining space. Currently they’re framing the apartments and creating identifiable space! It is scheduled for completion by March 2023.

 

East side (exterior)  –  additionally, outdoor work includes creation of a parking lot for AL, a paved driveway and a new road around the perimeter of the entire nursing facility. It is an ongoing process throughout the project, with completion dependent on the weather.

Maintenance Garage  –  because of the extended driveway surrounding campus, relocation of the garage is necessary…siding, roofing, and much of the structure is complete, and is located on the northeast edge of campus. It is scheduled for completion “before the snow flies” in order to store our major equipment.

 

Memory Care Center  –  this facility – consisting of 16 private rooms – will attach to the existing nursing unit’s north hall, and around to what is currently the ambulance entrance (which will be relocated). The work continues on a daily basis…installing electrical and plumbing equipment, digging and refilling and some of the footers poured. One of the centerpieces of the entire project, an outdoor courtyard, meditation room, common space and other amenities will be a part of this space. It is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2023.

Inside renovations  –  there’s more! A more centralized commercial kitchen will be constructed in the Memory Care area; that will necessitate the removal of 13 rooms on the east nursing wing (residents will be relocated within the facility), and will also result in the renovation/rebuilding of six Skilled Care suites in the former kitchen/dining space. A Therapy Center will be relocated to the current Friendship Center location; thus the new Center described above. Specific completion dates will range from mid-2023 to mid-2024.

 

Other items  –  finally, some other changes inside and out… The main lobby will receive an update, with a bistro attached; the main entrance will be graced with a canopy covering the drop-off points; a new salon, restrooms and library/computer space will be added; and extended parking will be created outside the main entrance.

 

It’s a lot to digest and perhaps confusing, with many changes on the horizon. Funding continues to be solicited, and we continue to be grateful for gifts and commitments.

 

Why are we doing this? In large part, it is to ensure that residents can receive all levels of care on one campus, and also to improve both existing and new services.

Every day brings something new, and every day there is progress.

 

Thank you for your support! And thank you for helping our residents as they continue “living in community!”

There’s digging and dust and dirt and demolition. Throw in some concrete work and a lot of noise, and that’s just part of the recipe for Pleasantview’s “Building on Tradition…Envisioning the Future” campus improvement plan!

 

Easily visible is the work being done on the southwest corner of campus, where a stand-alone Friendship/Community Center is in the process of construction. The facility is needed due to the current one being renovated into state-of-the-art physical and occupational therapy space…which will be more centrally located for our residents, primarily those in skilled care. The Friendship Center is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2023.

 

Not as noticeable, perhaps, is the activity on the north side, where similar progress is being made on the new CCDI unit. CCDI stands for Chronic & Confused Dementing Illness, better known as Memory Care. As more and more elderly are being diagnosed with some form of dementia, it is imperative that specific space be dedicated to their care, often more individualized. To that end, a 16-bed unit and adjacent courtyard will attach to the current structure at two points.

As a part of that facility, the commercial kitchen will be relocated to a more convenient spot to serve residents more efficiently.

The CCDI unit is scheduled for a summer 2023 completion.

 

Least visible to the public is the renovation of Pleasantview’s original U-shaped facility on the campus’ east side. What once was a 50-room, 3-story facility housing those with moderate health needs will soon become 28 Assisted Living (AL) apartments on the top two levels (the bottom level will continue to serve as administrative offices).

 

The AL is a crucial piece of the continuum of care. Residents living independently in the Village typically move to AL, and many times ultimately into long-term nursing care. Pleasantview currently lacks that component, forcing residents to a) move into nursing perhaps prematurely; b) stay in their cottages longer, at the risk of needing more healthcare; or c) move completely off the Pleasantview campus to other communities where needs can more effectively be met.

 

Consequently, the AL is one of the first-phase projects; construction crews have spent much of their time ‘gutting’ the interior in preparation for the transformation. It is taking on a new interior appearance as some of the framing is already occurring.

 

This portion of the project is scheduled for completion in the spring of ’23.

 

Other site work is taking place, and will continue to. Inside work over the next couple of years will include the addition of a bistro and a small library, additional outdoor courtyard space, and the relocation of dining facilities, the salon, new restrooms and more.

 

The entire project is slated for a summer 2024 completion.

 

Support for the project continues to be solicited, with more information available by contacting Director of Advancement Larry Swartzendruber at 656-2421 or LSwartzendruber@pvhome.com.

 

Meanwhile, let the chaos continue!

It’s Happening!

 

Years of planning and meetings and discussions and prayers and – you name it – have now moved to the next stage of our building project. Now it’s on to the chaotic fun and noise as we continue to provide excellent care and opportunities for our residents!

 

The work has started once again, and will continue for the next 22-24 months.

 

The primary focus of the past couple of weeks has been demolition work in the U-shaped building sometimes referred to as ‘Old Glory,’ as well as outside work on the north side: continued removal of cottages, removal of part of the road surrounding campus, and grading work. The former will soon become our Assisted Living facility, and the latter our Memory Care wing. Though there are other major components to the project, these two areas of focus have been a part of the process since day one.

 

On Sunday, April 24, there will be a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony on the lawn in front of Old Glory…4:00 pm. Everyone is invited to attend; several key players in the process will share words of welcome, encouragement, and excitement. Refreshments will be served in the old lounge, and there will be an opportunity to make a free-will donation to the project. Regardless of the weather Sunday, a tent will be set up along with some seating available.

 

As construction progresses, it is important to adhere to safety guidelines, even as curiosity kicks into high gear. The road on the north side of campus is inaccessible, though all current Independent Living residents will retain full access to their homes. Construction vehicles will be coming and going as well, and we ask all pedestrians and drivers to exercise extreme caution.

 

We continue to invite your involvement. We will ask for your monetary support; we are requesting careful and prayerful consideration of how you might do so. Your continued prayers are essential as well.

 

Please don’t hesitate to ask questions at any time. After all, we are “living in community” as residents, families, staff, and the community at large.

 

Thank you for your investment in Pleasantview!

 

 

April 1, 2022

 

Disclaimer: please disregard the date at the top of this piece, or more to the point, the significance of said date. This is NOT an April Fools joke!

 

There are three words that represent the first two months of the year:

• “Happy New Year” in January
• “Be my Valentine” in February

 

Might we suggest these three for March?

• “Notice to Proceed”

 

Those words may not receive the recognition or have the positive vibes of the first two, but on literally the last day of March, we received those three words. They will drastically change the scope of what happens on the Pleasantview campus.

 

Those words allow us to move ahead with the building project…officially. We received approval for a sizeable, yet interest-friendly, loan from USDA…in mid-September of 2021. Then came more requirements and more information and documents needing to be submitted. We kept telling you that ‘it’s right around the corner.’

 

It has been a serious lesson in patience.

 

But on March 31, a meeting took place between Cardinal Construction, Pope Architects, a private building inspector, three reps from USDA, and three of us from Pleasantview. As the meeting wrapped up, we verbally received our “notice to proceed,” giving us full permission to move forward ‘full steam ahead!’

 

So what does that mean? It means that come Monday, April 4, work will begin in earnest…construction equipment will likely show up…and the organized chaos of a major project like this will begin! Barring major changes and unexpected hiccups, it is expected to be a nearly-two-year process.

 

We’d be remiss in saying the funds are all in and just waiting to be spent. The fact is, the loan is friendly to us, as mentioned above. But we continue to raise funds to offset the loan and ease the pressures financially; we will continue to ask for your investment.

 

For now we celebrate the okay to move forward, and we celebrate God’s blessing of granting us the opportunity to help make things better for our residents. We have a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony planned for Sunday, April 24 at 4:00 pm. Any and all are invited to help us celebrate!

 

We truly do “live in community” at Pleasantview and the community at large…and we thank you for being a vital part of what happens here!