Date: Fri 14-Nov-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

health-Ashlar-assisted-living

Full Text:

Work Begins At Ashlar Assisted Living Facility

(with cuts)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Ashlar of Newtown held groundbreaking ceremonies Monday for Lockwood Lodge, a

48-unit, assisted-living apartment building to be built adjacent to the

156-bed Ashlar nursing home off Toddy Hill Road in Botsford.

Ashlar President Thomas Gutner's comments on the project were followed by an

invocation from The Reverend Anne Baltzell, the chaplain of Ashlar of Newtown,

and comments by: Carleton Erickson, the chairman of the Masonicare board of

trustees; Thomas Hofstetter, chairman of the board of directors of Ashlar of

Newtown; Barry Spero, president and chief executive officer of Masonicare;

state Rep Julia Wasserman; and William Carpenter, the grand master of the

Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Connecticut.

Ashlar of Newtown is an affiliate of Masonicare.

Masons have been looking forward to groundbreaking ceremonies for the project

for several years.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) granted the masons a special

exception to the zoning regulations in September for construction of Lockwood

Lodge.

Occupancy of Lockwood Lodge is expected by the end of next year, Mr Gutner

said Monday. Lockwood Lodge, an almost 54,000-square-foot rest home, will be

inside a three-story building.

Besides the apartments, Lockwood Lodge will contain living rooms, activity

areas, kitchens and dining facilities. Lockwood Lodge will be connected to

Ashlar by The Commons, an area which will contain a lobby, meeting room,

activity area, mail room, cafe, convenience store, rehabilitation service

area, and a wellness center. According to Ashlar, Lockwood Lodge will provide

its residents with three meals a day, assistance with the activities of daily

living, housekeeping, nursing care, security and transportation.

Fees for Lockwood Lodge residents will be based on the size of their apartment

and the level of service they require. Typically, assisted-living facilities

cost about 40 percent less than nursing home residency, according to Ashlar.

Residents pay for assisted-living facilities privately. Lockwood Lodge will be

open to the general public.

Mr Gutner has said health care is a rapidly changing field. Having a rest home

at Ashlar is intended to limit overall health care costs and broaden the range

of services the facility offers.

Lockwood Lodge will provide more care than is available at an independent

living facility, but not as much care as is provided at a skilled nursing care

facility such as Ashlar's nursing home. Residents in assisted-living settings

need some help with activities such as eating, bathing, toileting, and

dressing. The compact apartments in such a facility provide a home-like

setting.

Having an assisted-living complex will allow Ashlar to serve more older

adults. Such facilities are cost-effective while providing a safe and secure

place to live for the elderly, according to Mr Gutner.

Typically, residents of assisted-living facilities are widows or widowers. A

typical resident is an 81- or 82-year-old woman.

Six of the 48 apartments will be larger than the others, allowing double

occupancy in those six units, thus providing room for up to 54 residents at

the rest home.

The new facility will generate an additional 100 vehicle trips daily at

Ashlar, according to a traffic study.

Last January, P&Z members approved two zoning amendments sought by Ashlar to

allow it to proceed with planning for the assisted-living complex.

Ashlar had requested that the zoning regulations be customized to allow

elevator shaft enclosures to protrude four feet above the roofline of the rest

home, and also to allow a parapet wall on such a building to rise four feet

above the roof line.