Good Samaritan Society Spokane Valley has launched a project to remodel a portion of its assisted-living area into a skilled-nursing care wing with private rooms.

Administrator Stephen Collette says the retirement home, located at 17121 E. Eighth in the Greenacres area, will convert an area of semi-private, assisted-living units into private, skilled-nursing care rooms that have individual bathrooms. About 10 years ago, the area being renovated was used for nursing home care, and it will return to that use, he says.

"We're going to be able to offer residents more options for private rooms, and it will focus on being post-acute nursing care," Collette says.

At the same time, the assisted-living area's dining room is being renovated, and some common areas will get new lighting, flooring, wall treatments, and ceiling tiles. Collette declines to provide the estimated total cost of the renovation project.

He says the contractor on the project is JS Kirkland Co., of Spokane Valley, and that Design West Architects PA, of Pullman, Wash., designed it.

The Good Samaritan Spokane Valley 200-acre campus is licensed to provide 97 skilled-nursing beds. It also has the 79-unit Samaritan Towers independent-living apartment complex, and 28 independent-living duplex structures. The total assisted-living area will shrink from 27 units to 14 assisted-living units after the renovation is complete, Collette says.

Separately, the retirement center is raising funds for an estimated $60,000 project to build an outdoor therapy and exercise courtyard and hopes to begin construction of it by August.

That outdoor project is envisioned as having stairs, ramps, bridges, benches, and a variety of surface textures to include sand, grass, and gravel. The objective of this design is to help residents gain confidence in maneuvering the outside physical environment. The area is expected to benefit physical therapy patients recovering after a fall or a stroke, Collette says.

The yard area is planned to have a size of about 55 feet by 120 feet and also would have a small covered gazebo with benches, walking paths, raised flower beds, a potting table, a putting green, benches and chairs, and landscaping.

Good Samaritan Society Spokane Valley is owned by Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a nonprofit long-term care provider based in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan provides care and support for seniors at 240 locations in the U.S., including the Spokane Valley facility and another in Blaine, Wash., in the northwestern corner of the state.