COOK – The Cook-Orr Area Healthcare District Board overwhelmingly approved a $7 million remodeling and expansion of the Cook Nursing Home on Tuesday.

The project would add 16,377 square feet to the existing nursing home and convert the rooms, which are now semi-private, to private rooms to create a more homelike atmosphere.

“We’re committed to doing this without raising the levy,” said board Chairman Don Potter, who added that recently-approved legislation that will increase state Medicaid payments to nursing homes was “integral” to the decision.

Teresa Debevec, administrator for the Cook Hospital and Nursing Home, said they will be seeking grants to help fund the project.

Debevec said the current nursing home lacks privacy for residents, who are paired in shared rooms with a single bathroom. That complicates matters when a bed opens in a room.

“We have to have females rooming with other females and males with other males, so sometimes we’re not able to accommodate a potential resident,” she explained.

If the nursing home failed to draw residents, board members suggested it could also imperil the hospital.

At a meeting in October, board member Mike Enzmann pointed out that the Cook Hospital shared some services such as food service with the nursing home and suggested that the patient load at the hospital may not be robust enough to keep the hospital running without the nursing home.

He added that the Cook Hospital and Nursing Home was the area’s largest employer with more than 130 full-time equivalent workers.

DSGW architect Ryan Turner and intern Jessica Derynck outlined the proposed plans for the nursing home remodeling and expansion for the board last fall.

The additions would be on the east and north sides of the current structure, which would require a variance on the north side on the setback requirements. The facility would be able to accommodate up to 28 residents.

The nursing home rooms would be converted into private rooms with a more homelike atmosphere and greater privacy for residents. Derynck noted that storage units for residents would even have an access in the hallway so clothing could be returned to closets without disrupting the privacy of residents.

Each room would be 280 square feet including private bathrooms and storage space with 124 square feet for the bedroom area. The state requires a minimum of 120 square feet for resident rooms at nursing homes.

Plans also call for a canopy-covered entrance, a redesign of the kitchen and a parking lot addition.

Turner said DSWG has experience at designing similar nursing homes at several other locations. The firm currently has a couple of projects under construction and others are in the design phase.

Turner added that disruptions to residents of the nursing home would be minimal during the remodeling and expansion.

No start date for the project has been determined yet, said Potter.