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A Publication of WTVP

This summer, the County of Peoria and our nursing home residents are looking forward to the opening of Heddington Oaks, the new nursing facility located on Heading Avenue in West Peoria. With the support of taxpayers and the commitment of the County Board to continue providing skilled nursing care for senior citizens in the community, we have been able to construct a magnificent, state-of-the-art care center that will be home to 214 residents, including 80 persons living with Alzheimer’s.

Heddington Oaks has an abundance of wonderful features, such as on-site physical therapy services; attractively landscaped courtyards with walking paths; living, dining and activity areas on each wing; and amenities that include a hair salon, ice cream parlor and chapel. Next year, the facility is expected to offer outpatient rehabilitation services, and we also have the capability to provide on-site renal dialysis to those suffering from kidney disease should the County Board implement the additional service to nursing home residents.

Surpassing the conveniences, however, are the exceptional medical services that will be provided for all Alzheimer’s, Medicare and long-term care residents who call Heddington Oaks home. In addition to 24-hour skilled nursing care, a nurse practitioner is on-site five days a week, complemented by visits from the home’s medical director twice each week. An ophthalmologist and podiatrist also provide services on-site regularly. Licensed professional therapists offer inpatient physical, occupational and speech therapies five days a week, with stroke and joint replacement therapy provided as needed. A registered nurse oversees care on each unit and all nursing personnel, including certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses, receive training twice each month.

In additional to physical needs, staff and residents work together by making collaborative decisions about diet, daily schedule and social activities to ensure individual emotional and spiritual needs are also being met. And while each resident will have easy access to dining and activity courts, we also understand the importance of privacy and dignity. To accommodate these basic needs, we have constructed each room with additional square footage; increased the number of private rooms to 42; and included 40 “T-rooms,” semi-private rooms with a dividing wall rather than the traditional dividing curtain, in the design.

Another great feature of the home is its sustainability. Heddington Oaks was constructed to LEED Silver design standards, which has enabled us to provide a facility with healthier living and work environments, use resources more efficiently, reduce solid waste and conserve operating costs—in other words, to provide the highest-quality public facility possible, as promised by the County Board through our strategic planning process.

And public facility is key. Our new nursing home would not have been possible without the support of the community. Therefore, we should all take pride in the knowledge that Heddington Oaks will be welcoming neighbors and loved ones for decades to come. In the coming months, I encourage you to stop by for a tour, or visit heddingtonoaks.com to learn more about this treasure. iBi

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