Following two years of planning and breakneck construction, the tri-county area’s newest, most state of the art long-term care facility will officially open next week.
Barbourville Health and Rehabilitation Center (BHRC) will move from its currently building on Shelby Street to a nearly 50,000 square feet facility on KY 225.
BHRC Administrator Janna Partin said all 119 residents would be transported during the early morning hours of Dec. 2 with the help of ambulance services in Knox, Laurel and Whitley Counties.
“They are excited bout it, but they are also a little bit nervous,” Partin said. “They know it’s new and they are anxious to see it, but the current facility is home to them. They know they are coming to a new home.”
To help ease the transition, Partin said staff have been taking regular photographs and posting them on bulletin boards at the current facility to satisfy the curiosity of residents.
Any trepidation about moving will likely be overcome by the sheer opportunities the new facility offers.
Besides being larger — the new BHRC will have 135 beds total, as opposed to 119, and nine private rooms instead of just 4 — the improvements are almost too many to count.
The new BHRC will have a shopping mall style ice cream parlor, beauty salon, larger rooms, each with their own bathrooms, more spacious recreation areas, a breathtaking courtyard, library, bigger, more well-equipped rehab areas, all new equipment … the list goes on. There are even special spas that include large whirlpool tubs, each with their own dedicated flat screen television mounted at the perfect viewing angle.
No detail has gone unnoticed. No effort or expense spared.
The current Barbourville Health and Rehabilitation Center is 40 years old.
Despite a fire that damaged part of the newly constructed facility this past spring, it will be finished on time.
Workers were busy putting the finishes touches on the new facility this week. Principal construction is finished, but decorating, organizing and stocking continue at a fever pitch.
Partin, a Registered Nurse who has been administrator since 2005 and started at BHRC in 2001 as a floor manager, said the excitement of the move has caused “many sleepless nights.”
“I am just overwhelmed thinking about working in this facility,” she said. “I’m very excited. I feel blessed. Everyone on the staff here is really proud of it and we are ready to show it off.”
A grand opening is planned for 2014, and will be open to the community.
Barbourville Health and Rehabilitation Center is a 50,000-square-foot, 135-bed facility (with nine private rooms) located in Barbourville, Kentucky. Our facility offers 24-hour nursing care, physicians, pharmaceutical services, lab services, along with speech, physical and occupational therapies.