New skilled nursing facilities proposed

PALMER — Mat-Su residents have hours left to weigh in on the future development of three skilled nursing facilities in the Palmer-Wasilla area by two out-of-state companies.

At a Thursday night public hearing at Mat-Su College, about 60 people gathered to discuss Alaska Department of Health and Social Services’ Certificate of Need Program applicants Maple Springs Senior Living and Mat-Su Colony Skilled Nursing Facility. Mat-Su Colony — backed by Idaho developer Spring Creek Enterprises and Utah’s Arleta Healthcare — applied in April, and Maple Springs — based in Utah — applied in June, as required by the Department for construction of health care facilities.

If approved, Mat-Su Colony would be located down the hill from Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, where the Veterans Wall of Honor and Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau are currently located. The property was purchased for development of the nursing facility by Spring Creek last November for $1.25 million, $1 million of which will be used to build a new visitors bureau building elsewhere, according to the Mat-Su Colony website. The Wall of Honor will be moved to another location on the current property and maintained by a nonprofit governed by members of local veterans’ organizations.

The estimated cost of the proposed 94,890-square-foot, 104-bed skilled nursing facility is $20.75 million.

Maple Springs has two proposed locations: at the corner of the new Bogard Road and Glenn Highway in Palmer (south of Scott Road) and outside the northwest corner of E. Meridian Park Loop (behind Capstone Family Medicine). The Wasilla facility would cover 123,125 square feet, Palmer 103,350 square feet. A total 110 units of the buildings would be for skilled nursing; the rest would make up hospice (10 in Wasilla), assisted living (85 total) and memory care units (15 in each).

The total cost of the project is estimated at $36.1 million.

Representatives from both entities focused as much on personal testimonies as the numbers dictating the need for skilled nursing facilities the Mat-Su Valley in their pitches to the public.

Maple Springs owner Mark Dunn, for example, said he “grew up going to the hospital” with his father — a doctor — and observed his grandfather’s last four years of life at Maple Springs. Both experiences, he said, inspired him to work in senior healthcare and strive to provide a home-like experience for those in need of various levels of care.

In support of Mat-Su Colony, Spring Creek CEO Doug Clegg emphasized the company’s current presence in Soldotna with Riverside Assisted Living as an example of his ongoing Alaska investment. Arleta founder Serge Newberry also said that he makes “a conscious effort” to ensure that a building of his “doesn’t smell,” because he, too, thinks senior living facilities should be less like hospitals and more like homes.

As far as need, a 2011 study by the McDowell Group for the Mat-Su Health Foundation reported a 73-bed deficit for assisted living units in the Valley; next to no memory care services outside of the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home, despite demand for 190 units; no skilled nursing facilities, despite demand for 66 units; as well as a lack in hospice care. Numbers were expected to double or triple by 2020, if not addressed prior to that time.

In five years — from 2010 to 2015 — the proportion of the Alaska population age 65 and older increased from 8 percent to 10 percent, according to the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Current population estimates by the Department count 100,178 Mat-Su Borough residents, meaning there should be about 10,000 seniors living in the area.

Most of the 16 people who spoke during the meeting’s comment period were in favor of both facilities, though a few said they’d rather see Mat-Su Colony constructed, if they had to pick one.

MatSu Economic Development Corporation President Don Dyer, who supports Mat-Su Colony, said it’s possible the Department of Health could approve both applications, but that the Valley only needs 104 beds for skilled nursing — and to split that between the two entities, he said, would effectively be a denial of both.

Wasilla resident Beth Wright said it would be beneficial to have all the facilities proposed constructed — not only because of the need for Valley care and jobs, but because the competition would inspire all local facilities to maintain higher standards of care.

Despite living outside of the Mat-Su Borough, Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce Vice President Colin Faye also spoke in support of the developments, saying that most people in his city would rather go to the Valley than into Anchorage for their needs.

Eugene Haberman simply said the applications had been “fast-tracked” and that more time should be given for the public to consider the proposals as part of the approval process.

Public comment on the certification of need applications for Maple Springs Senior Living and for the Mat-Su Colony Skilled Nursing Facility ends Monday, Aug. 22 at 4:30 p.m. Typed or handwritten comments may be emailed or faxed to Certificate of Need Program Coordinator Alexandria Hicks at Alexandria.Hicks@alaska.gov or 907-334-2220.

For more information on Maple Springs Alaska, visit www.maplespringsalaska.com, where the company has also uploaded presentation slides from the Thursday meeting.

To learn more about Mat-Su Colony, visit matsucolony.com.

The complete applications of both entities can be downloaded in PDF form from hss.state.ak.us/Apps/CertNeed/

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.