Submitted Photos MAIN: A rendering of the new chapel at the Mountrail Bethel Home shows an attractive stained glass display.

STANLEY – Big changes are coming to senior living and long-term care in Stanley, starting with the construction of an assisted living center that’s on schedule to open this summer.

The Mountrail County Health Center underwent major improvements in recent years with the $4 million construction of a new emergency center and clinic expansion. Now sights have turned to a new phase of construction that will improve existing services and add new services through the center’s Mountrail Bethel Home.

The projected move-in date for Rosen Place on Eighth, an assisted living center, is July 1, said Stephanie Everett, foundation and marketing director and administrator-in-training for the health center. Prospective residents already have begun reserving some of the 14 units.

“We are excited to get assisted living here because it’s a service we do not have in Stanley,” Everett said.

An assisted living facility will enable Stanley to keep its seniors in the community, giving them the opportunity to stay in a place where they have roots and have made contributions over the years, she said. Retaining that population also helps keep local businesses viable and supports the future of the health center.

Assisted living services will be provided by staff at Mountrail Bethel Home and will include three meals a day, personal assistance, a 24/7 call system, medication management and in-unit meal tray delivery and washer/dryers.

The assisted living center is the first of a series of construction projects planned during this phase of improvements at the health center. Once the work is completed, Mountrail Bethel Home will provide a full continuum of healthcare services, so a resident transition from independent living to assisted living to nursing care while remaining under the home’s umbrella.

The next project will be construction of Bethel Chapel in the existing courtyard area. Work is expected to start this spring and finish around July 1.

In the years to come, construction is planned on a new nursing home to replace the aging 48-bed facility, partially built in the 1950s. At 28 residents in early March, the nursing home is likely to see the demand for beds rise as baby boomers reach their elderly years, Everett said. Planning for that demand is ongoing in the construction process, she said.

In addition to a new nursing home on the property, the health center would relocate and rebuild existing independent living housing known as Centennial Court, although replacing it with more assisted living is an option if Rosen Place on Eighth indicates that type of housing is especially popular, Everett said. She noted there is other independent living housing in the community.

“We just need a lot of strategic planning to see how to do it right,” she said.

The health center also hopes to make space for a wing to accommodate visiting medical specialists at Mountrail County Health Center.

The foundation will be seeking grants to help with the future construction. The foundation has provided $9 million since 2013 for health center improvements, including fully funding the emergency room and T.H. Reierson Rural Health Clinic.

The $4.8 million project for the assisted living center, chapel and parking lot is largely funded with grants and donations, along with a $1.6 million, low-interest loan.

“We have wonderful donors here who really believe in the projects we are working on,” Everett said. “We want to bring in more services in Stanley so our residents can stay in Stanley.”