Plans are in development for Comanche County Hospital District to open a 76-bed nursing home to benefit the local area, but issues resulting from the pandemic have left the project with a $4 million shortfall and the need for donor support so they can break ground on the facility in the spring.
“It’s going to take everyone’s help to get this done, truly everyone,” says Joe Locke, CCCHD board president.
The new Comanche County facility will be a modern, spacious 60,000 sq. ft., onelevel building, sited on the northeast side of the hospital at 10201 TX-16, close to DeLeon, Dublin and Comanche.
It will consist of 76 semiprivate and private rooms with well-appointed resident dining and living areas, activity room, theatre, interior courtyard, physical therapy and rehabilitation department, and much more. Oaks and pastureland surround the property, which will also feature outdoor seating and nature views.
The nursing home will provide the most extensive care a person can receive outside the hospital, custodial, skilled nursing and 24-hour emergency care included. Residents will receive help with bathing, dressing and eating, RNs will provide medical monitoring, treatment and coordination of care with doctors. Physical, occupational, and respiratory therapists will provide specialized services. Also offered will be memory care, family support and social programs.
CCCHD and hospital administrators determined the need for such a facility in 2020 after they reviewed demographic studies, patient discharge reports, and competitive and cost analyses concluding that the time was right to pursue construction of a new nursing home, a long-term care center, operated not-for-profit and managed by the health system.
They determined more area seniors would be able to live closer to their home, family and doctor with such a facility. Family caregivers and aides driving out-of-county to care for them would be able to stay close. Adults of all ages requiring round-the-clock care could use the new home with emergency medical and rehabilitation services right next door. Aging babyboomers with increasing care needs would have a place they could plan on when needed in the future. Many new healthcare jobs would add to the local economy.
After much careful planning, everything fell into place to break ground this spring except for one big problem: the pandemic.
CCCHD already has the Texas Health and Human Services rural county waiver for 100 Medicaid licensed beds as well as the required approval of Comanche County Commissioners Court.
A USDA-backed construction loan of $11.6 million is ready through Simmons Bank (formerly Spirit of Texas Bank) in Comanche. Site surveys and architectural plans are finished. A construction company, selected through a competitive bidding process, is ready to break ground. Operating and staffing plans and policies are under development.
However, global product supply and demand problems led to an increase of nearly 35% in project costs. Projects across the country experienced cost increases and Comanche County’s nursing home project was no exception.
The result was a funding gap between the 2021 approved budget of $11.2 million and the current cost to construct of nearly $15.2 million. Therefore, CCCHD, along with CCMC and community volunteers, has initiated a high-speed fundraising campaign to raise funds to close the gap. The hospital is reaching out to people across the region encouraging them to give what they can so that the shovels can dig in this fall. Several major donors have pledged funds in support and many others are having thoughtful conversations and intend to give to the project.
For more information about the CCCHD long-term care center, special naming opportunities for donors, or to request a pledge form, please contact any CCCHD board member or the CCMC Office of Business Development, 325-488-4124, kbremer@comanchecmc. com.
Comanche County Consolidated Hospital District (CCCHD), in accordance with Texas law, serves an essential public function of providing health services and facilities to all people in the Comanche County area, such as the hospital, surgery, ER, doctor clinics, pharmacies, EMS, and ambulatory medical care. The publicly elected members of the board of CCCHD regularly review the health, equipment and infrastructure needs of the people the district serves.