Posted: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 4:01 pm | Updated: 10:40 pm, Tue Nov 29, 2011.
By Chris Bishop, phillyBurbs.com Staff writer
VOORHEES — Giving another boost to the area economy, Genesis HealthCare, which operates three nursing homes in Burlington County, plans to run a new 124-bed post-acute-care facility in this Camden County community near Virtua's recently opened hospital on Route 73.
The facility will be financed by Health Care REIT, a real estate investment trust that acquired substantially all of the real estate assets of Genesis HealthCare in February.
The project was designed and will be built by Burris Construction of Moorestown.
Officials from the companies involved would not disclose the cost of the project.
According to information supplied by Genesis HealthCare, which will not own the property, the facility, which will be dedicated to post-hospital short-stay rehabilitation and nursing care, is on Route 73 near the recently opened Virtua Voorhees.
Construction began in mid-November; the building could open by late 2012. The center will focus on activities and patient rehabilitation, including hydrotherapy, and include all private rooms.
In an interview, William Burris Jr., chairman of Burris Construction, said every aspect of the 86,000-square-foot building was designed to produce a program of effectiveness and energy-efficiency.
"Genesis truly has a reputation for providing great care, and we look forward to working together with them," Burris said.
"It's a lot more than a 'green' building," he said. "This Voorhees project is a new beginning."
Burris said that a doctor would be on staff all day, and that family members would be able to stay overnight in a patient's room.
Burris' father founded the company, which specializes in building nursing homes, in Moorestown in 1975. The headquarters moved to a new building on Main Street two years ago.
Burris built the Marcella Center nursing home in Burlington Township in 1992. It later was owned and operated by Genesis.
"Genesis operates over 200 skilled nursing facilities along the East Coast," said Paul Bach, executive vice president at Genesis. "We are excited to have collaborated with Burris Construction on the development of this new project. This short-stay, rehabilitation-focused facility will serve as a model for Genesis."
Genesis, headquartered in Kennett Square, Pa., has a long presence in the Voorhees area, where the company operates two skilled nursing centers, Kresson View Center and Voorhees Center.
After the new facility opens, each of the three Genesis sites in Voorhees will provide differentiated services through specialists.
In Burlington County, Genesis operates Marcella and Burlington Woods, also in Burlington Township, and the Cinnaminson Center.
In April, Health Care REIT, based in Toledo, Ohio, said it completed a $2.4 billion acquisition of all of the real estate assets of privately owned Genesis. The deal, including 147 post-acute, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in 11 Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, closed April 1.
All three former Genesis properties in the county are now owned by Health Care REIT.
Click here for original phillyBurbs.com article...
Chris Bishop: 609-871-8140; email: cbishop@phillyBurbs.com; Twitter: @chrisleebishop
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