Village Northwest Opens Two New Homes

Village Northwest Unlimited Opens Two Homes, Announces Construction of Next Two Homes

Village Northwest Unlimited will host a ribbon cutting and open house for two new residential homes on their campus in Sheldon. The new homes are licensed as Intermediate Care Facility (ICF/ID) homes for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. The ribbon cutting will be held Friday June 12, 2015 at 10:00 am at home 334 located on Village Circle. Home 334 will remain open throughout the day until 4:00 pm for the public to walk through.

The individuals served by Village Northwest Unlimited face physical and emotional obstacles on a daily basis. The Village strives to provide quality residential, vocational and therapeutic services and work as a team to develop plans and goals specific to each individual to allow them to be independent in their everyday lives. The new homes are specially designed with those unique challenges in mind. The living room and kitchen provide spacious gathering areas for meals and a family-type setting. The private bedrooms are equipped with track lifts to protect residents and staff while lifting and assisting residents. Wider hallways and doorways allow for greater accessibility throughout the home.

The new homes meet not only the needs of individuals served, but also the requirements and regulations set for homes with individuals requiring an intermediate care facility. In addition, the smaller 6-person home size follows an industry trend toward placing an emphasis on having care settings smaller and more home like. "We believe that moving to a 6-person home environment is going to be advantageous for those we serve," says Barry Whitsell, Village CEO. "This more intimate setting will provide individuals with better care, more accessible services and a warmer home environment."

These first two completed homes are part of a long range plan to construct a total of six new homes. Originally, the building plan called for two homes, with two more to follow with construction starting in 2016. Based on a number of factors including low interest rates and the rising cost of construction, the Board of Directors recently approved accelerating the plan and construction will proceed immediately with two more homes being started in July 2015. "As the Board of Directors continued to evaluate the long range plan, it became clear that it makes the best financial sense to move ahead with the next two homes right away," explains Whitsell. "We want to keep construction costs as reasonable as possible and those costs continue to increase as anyone looking to build a home could relate to. Accelerating the plan allows us to provide the best possible facilities for the individuals we serve while at the same time being fiscally responsible."