Marshall part of $51 million investment in downtown Huntington

[MStap]

I've always looked from the view that anything good for Marshall is good for Huntington and anything good for Huntington is good for Marshall. Sounds like Marshall and Huntington are part of the team investing $51 million to renovate the old Prichard build into senior housing and a collaborative geriatric medical/service hub in downtown.

It is great to see the university continue to invest in smart and long-term areas like medical/geriatric services. Sounds like something that will greatly benefit both Marshall and Huntington. Between medical, tech, and business, it is great to see the direction Marshall is heading with growth.

 

[HerdFB1]

Smith is doing a great job bringing BIG business to Huntington & increasing enrollment.

 

[RhinoD]

My mom is the executive director of an assisted living/nursing home... I can say first hand that the need for geriatric care has never been higher and it's continuing to grow. As the baby boomers age into old folks homes we can't build them fast enough. Seems like a great use for a downtown building, close to public transit, walkable to restaurants, etc.

 

[herdftblfan]

My mom is the executive director of an assisted living/nursing home... I can say first hand that the need for geriatric care has never been higher and it's continuing to grow. As the baby boomers age into old folks homes we can't build them fast enough. Seems like a great use for a downtown building, close to public transit, walkable to restaurants, etc.

Interesting. I work in the same industry. For the sake of anonymity, I won't ask for details on your mom, but she is right. The issue, though, is that investors want to see an ROI on their new builds even faster than the market can fuel so we are at the stage where infrastructure is coming but the willingness to accrue labor costs to support it isn't yet there.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Interesting. I work in the same industry. For the sake of anonymity, I won't ask for details on your mom, but she is right. The issue, though, is that investors want to see an ROI on their new builds even faster than the market can fuel so we are at the stage where infrastructure is coming but the willingness to accrue labor costs to support it isn't yet there.

Agree with you both. Only anecdotal from me, but having observed both parents in decline while living in assisted living (Woodlands in Htgn), it seems the great challenge is (as always) finding qualified & caring employees, paying them enough/good benefits to retain & better situational allocation of employees vs workload. Very difficult balancing act for CEO’s……..

 

[RhinoD]

Interesting. I work in the same industry. For the sake of anonymity, I won't ask for details on your mom, but she is right. The issue, though, is that investors want to see an ROI on their new builds even faster than the market can fuel so we are at the stage where infrastructure is coming but the willingness to accrue labor costs to support it isn't yet there.

Agreed, but I think part of that is the region of the country where you are located too... My mom works in Knoxville. And her company alone has built two new facilities in the past two years, and they bought a former school that got consolidated, gutted it, and made it a functional assisted living. They are all at 90+ percent census. As soon as their built, they fill up.

Agree with you both. Only anecdotal from me, but having observed both parents in decline while living in assisted living (Woodlands in Htgn), it seems the great challenge is (as always) finding qualified & caring employees, paying them enough/good benefits to retain & better situational allocation of employees vs workload. Very difficult balancing act for CEO’s……..

Staffing is my mom's biggest issue by a mile... Specifically entry level employment. CNA's, kitchen staff, maintenance, etc.

 

[herdftblfan]

Agreed, but I think part of that is the region of the country where you are located too... My mom works in Knoxville. And her company alone has built two new facilities in the past two years, and they bought a former school that got consolidated, gutted it, and made it a functional assisted living. They are all at 90+ percent census. As soon as their built, they fill up.


Staffing is my mom's biggest issue by a mile... Specifically entry level employment. CNA's, kitchen staff, maintenance, etc.

I cover the entire country plus Canada so I get what you are saying. Some markets needed growth and weren't yet saturated. Knoxville has become a hotbed for growth in the industry but if new builds continue to come online, it will/could become an issue.

I am familiar with your mom's company and toured the "original" high school they converted. It was gorgeous and keeping a lot of the keepsakes from the school was a nice touch. My visit was roughly in 2018.

My old company did something very similar in Boston. In both cases, it's heartwarming to see some of the memory care residents, who attended those schools, recalling their time spent there. It's precarious how they remember things from 60 years ago like it was yesterday but sometimes can't find their way to the dining room.

 

[herdftblfan]

Agree with you both. Only anecdotal from me, but having observed both parents in decline while living in assisted living (Woodlands in Htgn), it seems the great challenge is (as always) finding qualified & caring employees, paying them enough/good benefits to retain & better situational allocation of employees vs workload. Very difficult balancing act for CEO’s……..

It's an issue everywhere.

Folks often enter Senior Living because something has happened in their lives. Maybe an incident or someone recognizing a decline. I only share that because I wouldn't assume it's the community's fault for the decline (sometimes it is). Sometimes it's just the inevitable and the community is the best, safest place for them to be while they and their families navigate through it.

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

In my line of employment I spend a lot of time in these facilities and there is no greater chasm between the haves and have nots then the type of locations they end up at when they reach that level of care need. Difference between entering a sedation factory and well-maintained assisted living is night and day. I feel for the cost side of things, to do that well has to be insanely expensive.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

In my line of employment I spend a lot of time in these facilities and there is no greater chasm between the haves and have nots then the type of locations they end up at when they reach that level of care need. Difference between entering a sedation factory and well-maintained assisted living is night and day. I feel for the cost side of things, to do that well has to be insanely expensive.

I used to be a combo rep. for General Medical back in the late 90's. I had to call on assisted living and nursing homes, as well as primary care. Two of the nastiest places were in Coal Gove and Russell, places I wouldn't let my dog stay. They should have been shut down. I hated calling on those facilities, they smelled like crap and the limited staff wasn't the best. I always felt bad for the residents - they were there to die a slow death.

 

[MStap]

These age restricted senior developments seem to be going up all over the place. They are building two on Hal Greer right now just a few blocks from Marshall.

 

[RhinoD]

These age restricted senior developments seem to be going up all over the place. They are building two on Hal Greer right now just a few blocks from Marshall.

Its a sign of the times... I live outside of Asheville and there are "55 and over" communities everywhere. Whole neighborhoods of them, complete with community centers, pickle ball courts, golf cart paths, etc.

We have a ton of people in this country who are hitting their golden years at the same time.

You want to get into some higher-level thinking/planning... What are we going to do with all these places in 40 years when they are no longer needed? The boomers are long gone and now we have empty facilities all over the place... My guess is, redevelop again.

We desperately need more senior living, assisted living, nursing/memory care facilities now - but that's not always going to be the case, and that hurts development of such places.