Business

Hundreds turn out for grand opening of nursing facility

A bluegrass band performs at the grand opening of the Lodge at Mills River.

By Bill Moss, Published: November 18, 2014

MILLS RIVER — Hundreds of residents turned out Monday to celebrate the opening of the Lodge at Mills River, a nursing care facility on N.C. 191 near the Buncombe County line that will move 50 jobs from Fletcher to Mills River.

"Mills River has been terrific to work with," said co-owner Mike Deloach, of Beystone Health and Rehabilitation. "They've been very accommodating. Our neighbors have been highly supportive and easy to work with."
The facility plans to move 37 residents from the Beystone facility in Fletcher to the Lodge, which sits on 9.4 acres and covers 34,000 square feet. Each wing has a living room area and two sunrooms offer common space as well for activities and relaxation, said administrator Tori Hope.
"We're very fortunate to be able to come to a building of this caliber," she said.
In addition to longterm residents, the facility admits shorter-term rehab patients for around three or four weeks. It also offers outpatient physical therapy.
"We think we're definitely going to have more outpatient rehabilitation," she said.
Chris Sprenger, Tori Hope, Donna Deloach and Mike Deloach.The facility has 50 beds, all but six of them in private rooms. Beystone had just 20 private rooms.
Deloach said the company looked for a "nice comfortable setting with enough land" and sited the facility in an area with a need. "You don't want to serve the same community everybody else is serving," he said.
Most patients are on Medicaid and Medicare. The facility also takes private insurance and private pay. In a certificate of need filing with state regulators, Beystone said the Fletcher facility, built in 1967, had limited curb appeal, leaky plumbing, small bathrooms, an inefficient two-story structure and a setting on the Fletcher Academy campus that is congested and confusing. Beystone bought the land on N.C. 191 near High Vista in June 2012 for $600,000.