Article Contributed on: 10/4/2009 6:38:10 PM
The oldest nursing facility in Jefferson County will celebrate its 50th anniversary Oct. 10 at 10 a.m.
The Rehabilitation Center at Sandalwood, which houses 85 guests (patients), was formerly known as Sandalwood Manor and prior to that, Columbine Manor. The existing building has been renovated. The renovation and new rehab center were budgeted at close to $5 million, according Dick Whelan, one of the owners.
The facility has added more than 15,000 square feet of space to their existing building to provide rehabilitation services to patients in 14 private and eight semi-private rooms.
Whelan, who took ownership in 1991, said the facility has deep roots in Wheat Ridge with employees who have been on staff for many years.
Whelan said, "The Rehab Center is focused on short-term rehabilitation usually following a hospital stay. These residents will come to us to prepare themselves for re-entry back home."
Features of the rehab center therapy programs include gardening, aroma therapy and Tai Chi. Individualized therapy is provided by in-house physical, occupational and speech therapists. Guests have access to a therapeutic kitchen and bathroom, which helps them practice routine skills, so returning to a home situation is successful.
"This has been a dream of the ownership and administration for a number of years and we are very excited it finally has come to be," Whelan said.
"The city is very excited to celebrate the reopening of Sandalwood," said Mayor Jerry DiTullio. "The renovated facility is a great addition to the 38th Avenue corridor and the city as a whole," DiTullio said.
Administrator Angela Byrne said most patients come to the facility from Exempla Lutheran and St. Anthony hospitals.
New rehab rooms include individually controlled heating and cooling units, wireless Internet access, flat screenTVs and telephones with complimentary long distance.
For more information, call 303-422-1533. The facility is located at 3835 Harlan St., Lakewood.