Homesteads Taken Over By Established Facility Management Firm

By Kaaren Valenta

Sunwest Management, Inc, of Salem, Ore., is the new owner of The Homesteads of Newtown, an assisted and independent senior rental community in Hawleyville.

Sunwest purchased the 95,000-square-foot facility at 166 Mt Pleasant Road in June for $11.8 million as a result of a property foreclosure against The Homesteads of Newtown LLC, and officially took over its management on September 1. In the months between June and September, The Homesteads was temporarily operated by the Long Hill Company, a management company that is a division of the United Methodist Church.

Robin Asken, who has been in the health care field for more than 30 years, is the new executive director of The Homesteads.

“Sunwest manages more than 125 communities nationwide,” she said. “It was primarily a West Coast company but now is moving east and has also acquired Kensington Green in Southbury.”

Established in 1991, the company manages retirement, assisted living, residential care, and memory care (Alzheimers/dementia) communities. The corporate office in Salem, with a staff of 150 people, manages the business functions for all of the facilities; by centralizing these functions, each community’s staff is free to focus on resident care, Ms Asken said.

“Sunwest keeps a low profile,” she said. “The company wants each facility to be unique in its own way. This is a beautiful facility. The only issue was the [former] management.

“The staff at The Homesteads has been here from the beginning. They are looking for leadership and guidance; we are here now to help them make decisions,” she added. “Sunwest’s goal is to create an environment where the staff is respected and valued as much as the residents and their families.”

The Homesteads, which opened in 2001, has 100 apartments; 80 of which are assisted living and 20 are for memory care. Currently there are about 66 residents in the apartments and 75 full- and part-time staff members. Fifty volunteers also give of their time at The Homesteads.

“Fifty percent of the residents in assisted living are independent,” Ms Asken said.

Monthly charges range from $3,700 for a studio apartment to $5,200 for units in memory care. The monthly fee includes three meals a day, housekeeping and linens, a security system, social activities, and call pendants. Personal laundry service is also available at an additional cost.

“We have a nurse on call 24 hours a day and a nurse in the building Monday through Friday from 8 am to 11 pm with wellness visits during the week,” Ms Asken said.

The Homesteads has a fitness center, an indoor swimming pool, a day spa, and a beauty parlor. There are full kitchens and laundry rooms on each floor, in addition to a large dining room with restaurant-quality service and the Two Bears Pub.

“We encourage families to visit and use the kitchens on each floor if they want to make a meal,” Ms Asken said.

The Homesteads has a fulltime recreation director and its own bus. A full slate of activities is offered every week, both on-site and in the community. There are three shopping trips each week to Newtown, Southbury, and Danbury, scenic drives, bowling, restaurant trips, and other activities.

“Twenty years ago people didn’t have the options that they have now,” Ms Asken said. “They don’t want to live in nursing homes. They want to have the ability to choose what they do for entertainment. Lower levels of care offer them many more choices.”

For more information about The Homesteads of Newtown, call 426-8118.