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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Gov. Beshear, State Officials Break Ground for New Glasgow State Nursing Facility
Project Will Create New Facility for Individuals with Mental Illness, Intellectual Disabilities
GLASGOW, Ky.—Governor Steve Beshear, Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Secretary Janie Miller, and officials from the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID), gathered today for the official groundbreaking of a new facility for people receiving services at Glasgow State Nursing Facility.
Residents at the Glasgow State Nursing Facility will move into the new, 100-bed structure, which will be built on the same campus as the current facility. Glasgow State is a licensed, state-owned and operated long-term care center for individuals with mental illness who need both mental health treatment and skilled nursing services. Many of the residents also have intellectual or developmental disabilities.
“We have learned much about the role environment plays in the lives of individuals with mental illness and developmental and intellectual disabilities and its influence on therapy and health outcomes,” said Gov. Beshear. “Our goal is to design a structure that not only provides high-quality health care, but also nurtures and enhances the lives of each person who lives here.”
Residents of the facility require a higher level of care than those at most long-term care facilities in the state. Its staff is trained to provide specialized care to support the treatment of individuals with dementia and other mental illnesses and disabilities. Glasgow State Nursing Facility is also the only long-term care facility in Kentucky that has been recognized for its expertise in caring for individuals with Huntington’s disease—a degenerative illness characterized by uncontrollable physical movement and the loss of mental abilities—by the Huntington’s Disease Society of America.
“Making this project a reality has been a top priority of mine, and I’m so pleased to be here today to break ground for this new facility,” said Rep. Johnny Bell, of Glasgow. “I commend Governor Beshear’s administration and my colleagues in the legislature for working together to ensure the patients here will be able to continue to receive the care they need in a safe, modern setting.”
Prior to the formation of the nursing facility in July 1977, the current Glasgow State facility was home to the State Regional Tuberculosis Hospital. In recent years, problems have been identified in the current structure, necessitating the construction of a new facility. The new structure, which was designed by Lexington-based CMW Inc., will be a one-story, approximately 72,000 square-foot building with 100 beds. The contractor, D.W. Wilburn in Lexington, expects to have completed the work by early fall 2012. The total cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $20 million, including design, review, inspection and construction.
BHDID also plans for the new facility to have an enhanced role as a resource to community providers, by developing an increased capacity to deliver specialized care on an outpatient basis.
“Today marks a significant step forward for the residents of Glasgow State Nursing Facility,” said Sec. Miller. “Although these are challenging economic times, Governor Beshear’s administration is committed to seeing this project through and continuing to enhance services and advocating for the needs of individuals with mental illness and intellectual or developmental disabilities.”
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