St. Bernards Villa On Way To Completion

A 28-acre facility in Jonesboro will give people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia as well as their families a place to be during a sometimes, very difficult situation, officials said Tuesday.

Officials with St. Bernards Healthcare hosted a topping out ceremony at the new St. Bernards Villa on West Parker Road.

In addition to the 30-bed Memory Center that will help people with dementia, a 75-bed assisted living facility will also be on the grounds.

St. Bernards Healthcare president and CEO Chris Barber said the construction of the Villa is an opportunity to help people.

“It is a wonderful day. We are excited about bringing a new service to the area,” Barber said.

The assisted living area will have everything from a beauty shop and physical therapy clinic to a chapel and a theater.

Barber said the Memory Center – which will be named after the late Bill Rainwater of Jonesboro – will have a garden, walkways and activities for people who face difficult diseases like Alzheimer’s.

“There is a great need because there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. There are 100,000 people in Arkansas with Alzheimer’s,” Barber said. “The family often struggles to find long-term places with amenities. It is very unique for Northeast Arkansas.”

Rainwater, a longtime hotel owner and philanthropist in Jonesboro who served on the St. Bernards Board, died in Sept. 2013 at age 87.

Barber said Rainwater and his family have been a key part of the hospital’s success for many years. The hospital group has been working for the past few years on hospice and other elderly issues.

Several years ago, the hospital opened the Phil and Flo Jones Hospice House on Matthews Avenue in Jonesboro.

Barber said the 20-bed in-patient hospice has “touched a lot of lives,” while St. Bernards Villa will serve as a partner to St. Bernards Village.

TOPPING OUT
As the sounds of hammers and saws could be heard nearby, chairman emeritus of Nabholz Construction Charles Nabholz spoke about the project.

Nabholz said the event Tuesday – a “Topping Out” – is a nearly 115-year-old construction tradition that honors the hard work of construction workers.

“It celebrates the most hazardous work of a project,” Nabholz said.

During the older version of the ceremony, a tree limb or a piece of timber would be placed on the roof of a building, Nabholz said.

“It would honor the forest,” Nabholz said.

On Tuesday, construction workers instead used a plank of wood, cut into a triangle, for the ceremony. The plank of wood was then placed onto the side of the building, close to the roof.

The construction of St. Bernards Villa is expected to be completed by April 2015.