Trinity Health Long-term Care Facility to Open Next Spring

Above-ground construction has begun on a 90-bed long-term care and rehabilitation facility in White Lake Township. It is expected to be completed next spring. 

Sanctuary at White Lake will be owned and operated by Trinity Senior Living Communities, a part of the Trinity Health System which is the parent company of St. Joseph Mercy. It will include approximately 77,000 square feet of space off Elizabeth Lake Road south of Highland Road, and south of the Kmart and JC Penney. 

Administrators plan to hire approximately 100 employees to work at the facility in a wide range of positions ranging from patient care needs to nursing staff to physical therapists. 

This site will be a replacement facility for the Sanctuary at Alexander in Royal Oak. The move is being made because there is no ability to expand at the existing Royal Oak site, said Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing Kelly Gasior. 

“That facility has essentially outlived its usefulness because we don’t have an ability to retrofit it,” Gasior said. 

Underground work on the expected $19.5 million project began a few months ago. The installation of grinder pumps, utility connections and other below ground piping have largely been completed, said White Lake Township Planner Jason Iacoangeli. General contractor Kasco Construction plans to have most of the remaining construction completed before winter arrives, he added. 

Sanctuary at White Lake will have dedicated wings for both short-term rehabilitation and wellness needs, such as joint replacement or bone strengthening, and one for long-term care, Gasior said. The long-term care rooms will be reserved for traditional “nursing home” residents. All rooms are private and the beds are approved for both private pay and Medicaid/Medicare residents. 

The facility will include a therapy room, fitness center, walking center and many other modern amenities, Gasior said. 

“It’s really meant to be a neighborhood design so that residents will feel at home here and (engaged) with their surroundings,” Gasior said. 

Sanctuary at White Lake is the latest in a rash of long-term care facility openings around Oakland County and the state. Long-term care facilities house approximately 40,000 Michigan residents each day, according to the Health Care Association of Michigan, the state’s professional association representing nursing and rehabilitation communities including for and not for profit, county medical care and hospital based providers. 

Regency at Waterford, a $7.5 million 120-bed home in Waterford Township recently opened. It has replaced the county-owned Golden Oaks Medical Care Facility.

Trinity Senior Living Communities (TSLC) is the pre- and post-acute care affiliate of Trinity Health. TSLC currently operates 12 long-term care living centers, two continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), eight seniors housing communities, seven HUD senior apartment communities, one assisted living residence, and one low-income tax credit apartment community for seniors.