Updated, March 17
Inside the planned nursing facility on Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road, there’s an odor of fresh paint and spackle as construction workers sand edges and anchor screws around an open floor plan. Outside, yellow excavators roam through what is expected to be a large, outdoor green communal area — now dirt with construction material.
It’s all part of Navigator Homes, a planned 70-bed facility that will replace the aging Windermere Nursing & Rehabilitation Center as the Island’s skilled nursing home, the largest project of its kind on the Island.
Project contractors and Navigator’s board, with work moving quickly, are optimistic that they could open the first phase of the anticipated facility by the end of the year, and they have started accepting applications for residents looking to live out their remaining days, potentially starting in December.
The facility sits on a nearly 30-acre site in Edgartown, with more than half of that — 18 acres — set aside for conservation. It will consist of five buildings for the nursing facility. Connected to the project, and on the same campus, is workforce housing built for Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Navigator staff, with 76 bedrooms incorporated into a number of apartment buildings at the front and back of the campus. Staff could start living in the apartments as early as this summer, a boon for the hospital, which has long been in need of housing.
With some of the finer details starting to come into focus, like the cutouts for fireplaces and medicine cabinets, organizers and developers with the project say they are excited for what’s coming.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Paddy Moore, board member of Navigator Homes Martha’s Vineyard, during a recent tour of the site.”I am delighted that we have brought this to fruition.”
Moore is particularly excited about the design of the building ,and the program that comes with it. Instead of the traditional nursing home, where residents are typically coupled two per room in a large, single-building apartment complex, Navigator has been designed as what is called a Green House model — a nod to a belief that their residents are growing. The concept is from a not-for-profit formed in 2003 called the Green House Project.
Instead of one multiple-floor building, Navigator is made up of five individual buildings, each with a dining room, common area, library, patio, and other amenities. Within each building, multiple single rooms all circle the common area. Medicine cabinets will be personalized per resident’s room, rather than one for the entire complex. And the open floor plan allows staff to keep an eye on residents, while also allowing them to have some independence.
Moore said that the model allows residents to age with dignity and autonomy, which she believes is the right fit for Vineyard residents. The layout, Moore notes, is an attempt to create a family-like setting that will foster community. She said that residents will be able to better maintain their identity while they age.
“These skilled nursing homes for elders are the right thing for the Martha’s Vineyard community, as the ability to care for our elders with compassion on-Island is critical for family support and connection,” she said.
For the management of the facility, Navigator announced at the end of February a new partnership with Alliance Health Management Services. The nonprofit manages eight senior living facilities in the region. An agreement was signed in October.
The green house model is new for Alliance, but officials with the nonprofit say that it could be the future of the profession, and they are all in.
Chris Hannon, vice president of operations for Alliance, said that his family has been in the senior-living care profession for decades, and he acknowledged that the traditional mode of care has its challenges. As he looks to cap off his career, he sees the green house model as a possible legacy, and he’s excited to see it through. He believes that it could give residents the ability to age with dignity.
As for next steps for Navigator, contractors are optimistic that work will be completed on the first building in October. State health officials will then give a final inspection; it could take an additional two months before an occupancy certificate is issued.
In a statement, Navigator board chair David Roush said they are glad to bring Alliance aboard. “Families will feel confident that they have made the right decision to keep their loved ones on-Island,” Roush said. “With their experience in eldercare and family support, we have found the right managing partners in Alliance.”
This post was updated to correct the spelling of names in a photo caption.
