Lutheran Home wraps up $70 million renovation of Arlington Heights campus

A $70 million renovation project at the Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights is nearing completion as the century-old senior living facility gets ready for the next generation of patients.

According to the U.S. Department on Health and Human Services' Administration on Aging, there were 44.7 million people over age 65 in the United States in 2013, but by 2060 that number is expected to be 98 million Americans.

Those Baby Boomer patients will expect the highest level of care, which is why Lutheran Home embarked on a three-year renovation project on its 84-acre campus in central Arlington Heights - yet another example of the growth of the senior care market in the suburbs.

Construction is almost done and officials are waiting for state approval. Patients are expected to start moving into the renovated rooms by late March or early April, said Linda Smith, marketing director for Lutheran Home.

Upgrades to the Olson Center, which mainly houses long-term nursing care, made each room bigger and added private bathrooms. The number of available rooms has fallen from 252 to 162, but there are also more common areas for patients to spend time with each other or their families, hold group meetings or bake cookies in communal kitchens.

"It's supposed to have a more homelike feel to it, less institutional," Smith said.

The facility also now has a wellness clinic with seven exam rooms for doctors and specialists in an effort to reduce readmittance rates to hospitals.

"Having the wellness clinic on-site is so important for us," Smith said. The average readmission rate for Illinois facilities is 20 percent, but at Lutheran Home it's 8 percent, she said.

Lutheran Home is partnering with Chicago-based Great Lakes Clinical Trials to provide more treatment options for patients with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

A new dining hall will serve employees, families and visitors - including any of the 800 people who live in Luther Village's independent living villas and homes - with food stations such as a salad bar, pasta bar or Sunday brunch.

The first phase of the Lutheran Home project was the addition of MyRehab, a 78-room short-term rehabilitation facility for patients recovering from falls, surgery, pneumonia or any other condition that requires additional medical attention after a hospital stay. Since opening in 2014, MyRehab has been so successful that Lutheran Home is going to use one floor of the Olson Center, or another 52 beds, for short-term rehab, Smith said.

Lutheran Home is looking to hire more than 100 people in the next month or so in a variety of positions, bringing the total staff to more than 700.

Before the project was approved in 2012 there were concerns from Lutheran Home's neighbors about parking, and fears that the construction might cause flooding. The project doubled stormwater detention at the Lutheran Home campus with the use of underground basins and added 115 parking spaces, said Rex Paisley, corporate communications director.

"We all want to stay in our homes as long as we possibly can," Paisley said. "But, we also want to provide our neighbors with the very best possible Plan B we can."