Council approves new Centre Crest nursing facility

COLLEGE TOWNSHIP — College Township Council unanimously approved plans for a new 240-bed skilled nursing facility behind the former Starlite Drive-In, between Benner Pike and East College Avenue. 

According to Centre Care, the nonprofit that operates the nursing home, the new facility will be operational in the summer of 2020 and be better able to meet the evolving needs of the county’s residents for decades to come.

“We’re thrilled to receive the approval of the College Township council and thank the members for their support,” said Betsy Boyer, Centre Care’s board president. “We look forward to working with our new neighbors and providing a new home for the county with affordable, high-quality elder and rehab care.”

The state-of-the-art facility will offer traditional long-term care, as well as three specialty neighborhoods that are in high demand for Centre County residents. These include a high-acuity neighborhood for patients with complex medical conditions, a memory care neighborhood and a short-term rehabilitation neighborhood. The 30-acre site also has room to grow and expanded services in the future.

Centre Care told council it hired local landscape architect Derek Kalp, known for designing the landscape surrounding the Nittany Lion shrine at Penn State. In his remarks to council, Kalp explained that one courtyard he is designing will be exclusively for patients in the memory neighborhood.

“The dementia needs, obviously, are something that are overlooked in the past and it’s really exciting that you guys are taking that on,” said Carla Stilson, College Township council chairman.

Plans also showed a new entrance to the facility on Benner Pike, which will make it easier for residents, guests and staff to enter and exit from Interstate 99. 

The new 135,645-square-foot facility will expand current room size by 90 to 100 square feet per room and increase the number of private rooms from four to 66. This design will enhance resident quality of life while also providing an efficient layout for staff.

Centre Care concluded moving to a new building was the best option, because the baby boomer generation is changing the way health care looks and feels. The new building will offer larger rooms, more programming, enhanced food service and greater personalized care. 
Centre Care plans to fund the project through a combination of loans, organization resources and a potential capital campaign.

The approval is another step in a journey that began in 2013, when the county — which owned and operated Centre Crest since 1938 — transitioned ownership of the facility to the nonprofit board. Prior to the transition, the nursing home operated at a loss. In its first year after the transition, the board turned around the business and has operated in the black every year since.