Alzheimer’s facility coming to Arlington Hts.

A live-in facility for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia will be built in Arlington Heights next year, the village board approved this week.

Autumn Leaves Memory Care, 1625 S. Arlington Heights Road, will be built at the northeast corner of Arlington Heights Road and Council Trail and is being developed by Dallas-based LaSalle Group. The company has facilities in Crystal Lake, Vernon Hills and Orland Park.

“This is a project the community needs and it’s an issue that needs to be addressed,” said Matthew Krummick of the LaSalle Group.

Krummick acknowledged that there are several senior care facilities already in the Arlington Heights area, but said that this will be the only one solely focused on memory care issues.

“Coming into a community like this we want to be clear that we are not cannibalizing on current businesses,” Krummick said. “We are adding to the fabric of services that are offered by our competitors.”

He said there are about 27,000 people over the age of 55 in Arlington Heights, which means that statistically there could be about 1,500 people suffering from memory issues.

According to the original plans, the one-story facility will have 46 beds, common dining and entertainment rooms, physical therapy and outdoor recreation space. Autumn Leaves plans to employ 30 people on three shifts who will staff the facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Trustees discussed concerns they heard from a resident about noise from ambulances coming and going to or from the facility.

Krummick said that would not be an issue because residents with severe acute health issues would not be at Autumn Leaves. He added the facility will have a licensed registered nurse on staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If someone does need emergency care the facility will have a contract with a medical transport company.

“Quite frankly the number is so low that there’s not much more we can do to make it lower,” Krummick said. “Where you may see a higher call rate is facilities that are licensed to care for the kinds of people that we are not.”

He said the other facilities in the Chicago area average between three and five 911 calls per month.

Autumn Leaves will be built on land that has been vacant for some time and had been zoned for offices, but the board approved a change to institutional.

“It’s a beautiful facility,” said Trustee Bert Rosenberg.