An artist's rendering of the changes to come at Our Lady of Fatima Villa highlight the dramatic renovation to the appearance of the facility. The Villa plans on changing its care focus as well, and will become a center for assisted living, rather than skilled nursing.




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Villa takes facelift plans to neighbors first

By Steve Enders

During the first week of May, Our Lady of Fatima Villa threw open its doors and welcomed its neighbors inside, attempting to sell them on the idea that the care center is in need of a major facelift.

It seems to have worked.

The plan to approach the neighbors first is much appreciated, the handful of residents said. The idea was put together by the Villa's board of directors, CEO Preston Wisner and lead architect Sandy Barker.

Now that the neighbors appear satisfied with the architect's plans, Villa officials can now feel comfortable going to City Hall to actually apply for the renovations. It hasn't submitted anything to the city yet, but plans on doing so soon.

"It's good politics and we're trying to be good neighbors," Wisner said. "It's a learning process for all of us."

Besides good politics, the three meetings allowed nearby residents to talk face-to-face with Wisner and the board and address concerns over parking and noise from regular business taking place there.

Other preliminary plans have already been modified in response to the first meeting held May 3, according to Barker

The plans he will approach the city with call for a major renovation of the exterior of the Villa, which has been in operation as a skilled nursing facility since 1945. In addition and probably more significant, the Villa will shift its entire focus of care from "skilled nursing" to the burgeoning market of "assisted living."

Wisner said that in the last few years, the Villa has only had about an 85 percent occupancy rate, down from 99 percent just a few years earlier. Better home care and the elderly living longer are factors that have lessened the need for skilled nursing, he said.

And more recently the Villa has been making at least two referrals a week to folks who need assisted living rather than skilled nursing. This proves the need is there, Wisner said in defense of the coming operations change.

"The goal is to modify what we do and continue to give care to the frail elderly," Wisner said, adding that a recent survey taken of Saratoga's seniors also proved they'd rather live their last days at home if at all possible. In Saratoga, he said, many are able to do that.

With assisted living comes more independence for the residents of the Villa, so many of the changes to take place in the renovation will reflect that need. Rather than relying on others to help care for them, people in assisted living centers can mostly function normally and on their own. Barker added that with beautifying the exterior, the Villa will have a "nicer-looking facility for the community and those that are thinking about coming."

The rooms will be converted to be more like a studio or one-bedroom apartment instead of a hospital room. From the outside, the Villa will look more like an apartment building or townhomes. Three of the Villa's entryway facilities will be gone or moved with the renovation, and front parking will be moved to the rear of the four-acre property.

The number of occupants at the Villa will not change, nor will the number of staff members. It serves about 74 people now and employs more than 90.

Construction will be in two phases, Barker said, with the first phase replacing 34 units in the front of the Villa facing Saratoga­Los Gatos Road. All of those rooms will be converted to the new style, and the exterior will be changed as well. The front office will be taken down and moved, giving the front of the building the appearance of a townhouse development.

The second phase will consist of a major interior remodel to the entire facility, as well as renovations to the St. Catherine wing, which was built in 1957.

After sending plans to the city, Villa officials said they expect the first public hearings to come some time in late summer. If all goes according to plan, they hope to finish construction in the spring of 2001.

Our Lady of Fatima Villa is owned by the Dominican Sisters of Kenosha, Wis., but is managed now by the not-for-profit corporation headed by Wisner. It's also affiliated with Catholic Health Initiatives, which runs 70 hospitals in 22 states. Our Lady of Fatima is the only CHI facility in California.

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