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Last year marked the opening of the Home’s new addition, including an administrative wing and two new floors in our Mountain View Nursing Unit. Though this was the most visible element of our Spirit of Progress campaign, it represents only the first of four phases in the total project!

Since the June 20, 2019 ribbon-cutting and open house for this new addition, Phase 2 has been completed and Phase 3 will be finished by the time this edition of the Happenings arrives in your mailbox – meaning the expanded and fully renovated Mountain View Nursing Unit will be complete and occupied.

We knew that converting Mountain View to primarily private rooms was the wise choice for the Home’s future. We did not know, however, how important those rooms would be during the Home’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to the completion of Phases 1 and 2, we were able to provide care for residents who tested positive for COVID-19 while isolating them from those who did not. Having space to quarantine affected residents allowed our nursing staff to slow and eventually stop the spread of the virus while providing them with specialized care.

We’ve learned that the new Mountain View adds to resident health and safety by allowing us to respond flexibly to unforeseen and rapidly changing circumstances. In addition, as coronavirus precautions begin to ease, Mountain View residents will more fully experience the benefits we always envisioned: a more home-like environment crafted with their own personal treasures; enhanced privacy; greater dignity in the delivery of care.

The spacious living rooms and dining areas will allow residents to socialize while maintaining physical distancing requirements – something that would have been impossible in the old Mountain View.

On the other side of the building, a new bay window will enhance energy-efficiency in the Main Sitting Room while new furniture, carpet, wall coverings and decorations give the space a more open and modern look. The Main Dining Room was also refreshed a few months prior, meaning that this combined space – the “heart of the Home” – will be ready to welcome back residents as COVID-19 precautions ease and Phase 4 of construction ends.

That fourth and final phase of the Spirit of Progress is currently underway. Wing 3 in Residential Care is the last section of the Home where resident rooms have only half-bathrooms. Two rooms will be eliminated to create enough space for full bathrooms in Wing 3 rooms, which will be fully renovated. In addition, a few rooms along the Main Corridor will be reconfigured to create a new medication room in a space that is more accessible and efficient for residents.

The Spirit of Progress has been funded so far by a combination of generous donors and the Home’s savings. We invite you to join us as we see this project through to completion! Your gifts toward enhancing our Home for our residents are always greatly appreciated – especially so in a year of decreased revenue and increased costs due to the coronavirus. Please contact the Foundation at (973) 427-4087, ext. 649 or foundation@hchnj.org for more information on how you can be part of the largest, most impactful capital project in the Home’s 125-year history!

Visit the Spirit of Progress Website
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