November, 2011 – The Health Center at Friendship Village of South Hills (FVSH) is an 89-bed nursing facility originally constructed in 1984, and currently undergoing a major interior remodeling that will take nearly a year to complete. Design plans were developed by our interior design firm, Saxton Strategic Space Solutions (Des Moines, IA), and the general contractor for this project is Large Contracting Services, Inc. (Large, PA). Remodeling is currently underway and is expected run through the summer of 2012.
Thus far, 21 resident rooms have been completed to include new flooring, updated lighting, newly painted walls, new window treatments, an individual vanity cabinet in the bathrooms, and new white paneled doors with satin nickel hardware. Other amenities will include new heating & A/C units, bulletin tack boards for the rooms, individual TVs for each resident and additional closet shelving. Midway through the project, half of all of the resident room furniture will be replaced, with the second half coming at the end of the project. As soon as these 21 rooms are completed, the renovations will continue in the corridor where these rooms are located.
All common-use areas are also scheduled for upgrades including TV lounges, activities areas, offices and storage closets. The largest of the three resident lounges is scheduled to receive a new built-in electric fireplace with a flat-panel TV mounted above it. A bird aviary cabinet unit will be added for residents and families to enjoy year round.
One of the largest parts of the Health Center renovations will be the conversion of what is currently an enclosed courtyard, or Atrium, to eventually become the facility’s new Activities area. This part of the project is scheduled for the Spring of 2012. Adding this space for resident activities will enable use of the old activities room for much needed offices for staff. The new Activities area will be equipped with a stove for small baking activities, as well as much needed cabinets for storing all of the various activities supplies and materials. The currently open but screened roof of the Atrium will have a Kalwall roof system added, which will allow natural sunlight in without direct glare. We are very excited to have finally gotten this long-awaited renovation project underway, and have thus far received very positive comments from residents, staff, and families.
