Blog

Presenting the Pete and Jelaine Horton Skilled Nursing and Hospice Care Center at Door County Medical Center

Horton Skilled Nursing and Hospice Center

Pete and Jelaine Horton

“They let us bring in beer and watch the Packer game. We immediately felt at home.” That experience on Christmas Eve a few years back was the “a-ha” moment for Pete Horton and his wife Jelaine Horton. Pete’s mother was in her early 90s and living in hospice in Indiana; the family knew her life was nearing its end. Those final moments of comfort, remarkable in their similarity to everyday life, meant the world to the Horton family. “End of life means living until the end,” says Jelaine, “we felt so thankful. That’s a major reason we decided to contribute to the new Skilled Nursing Facility at Door County Medical Center.”

In June, Door County Medical Center (DCMC) will break ground on their new Skilled Nursing and Hospice Care Center. The Pete and Jelaine Horton Center will be one of only three federally-certified and Wisconsin-Licensed Skilled Nursing Facilities in all of Door County.

Growing Older

The 2015 U.S. Census Bureau list the average number of people over age 65 in the state of Wisconsin at 14.8%. In Door County, that figure is almost double at 25.4%. People ages 65-75 grew by 16% over the past 5 years and those over age 85 during the same period grew by 10%.

As our population ages, so too, does infrastructure. The current Skilled Nursing Facility at DCMC is the last of the patient service areas located in the 1963 building to be updated. The resident restrooms do not accommodate wheelchairs, natural light is scarce, the plumbing is outdated, and there is only one communal room for activities such as meals, therapy and treatment. If residents want to access green space, they need to take elevators down a floor.

“We have a 5-star Skilled Nursing Facility in place because of our amazing staff and leadership, but we can only do so much within the space we currently have,” says Communication and Marketing Coordinator, Erin Shortall.

“Our mission is to improve the health of all in our community, but especially for the poor and the most vulnerable. It is our mission, our duty, to take care of our senior population as they approach the end of their life. Building a new state of the art Skilled Nursing and Hospice/End of Life Facility is the right thing to do, despite the financial cost,” says Mike Herlache, Executive Director of Door County Medical Center Foundation.

Connecting Community

Horton Skilled Nursing and Hospice Addition

The 25,000 square foot Pete and Jelaine Horton Center will be located in the green space on the corner of S.16th Place and Rhode Island Street. Resident centered care is at the heart of the design and features a “two-neighborhood” approach. Each “neighborhood” offers 15 private skilled nursing resident rooms with one room in each “neighborhood” reserved for End-of-Life/Hospice care. Additional space is provided for family and friends of those receiving end-of-life care.

“This is something entirely new to our SNF, to offer an intimate and connected space for visiting loved ones,” says DCMC President and CEO Gerald Worrick, “it was important for us to shed the institutional feel so common in traditional skilled nursing facilities. This is about enjoying life.”

The list of amenities reads more like a brochure for a boutique hotel. The two neighborhoods collectively share the kitchen, dining room and spa area. The communal space for both also includes an activity room, chapel, salon and a healing garden. Each neighborhood does have its own living room, den and end-of-life/family room.

“The healing garden is an open extension of the building and will be a prominent feature of the facility. The recent addition of city sidewalks around the perimeter of the hospital, combined with the community garden just a block down the road, brings us all a little closer,” says Herlache, “Even more, this will be the only facility of its kind in our community that is attached to a hospital. This is advantageous to residents as almost all of their health care needs are right down the hall including clinic, rehabilitation and emergency services.”

Horton Skilled Nursing and Hospice Center   Horton Skilled Nursing and Hospice Center

Planting Seeds

In 1999, the Hortons moved to Sturgeon Bay after Pete was involved in a silo gas accident on their Indiana farm. Door County was a place for him to heal, and an opportunity for the couple to commit to an area they both loved.

“Door County always felt like home,” said Pete. His first visits to the peninsula began with his father, whose company built our familiar blue water towers. Pete’s father passed on the legacy of giving to his son, instilling first and foremost a sense of humility. “We’re just lucky enough that we can do it,” says Pete, “We all do what we can with what we have.”

Internal support for the new skilled nursing facility has been immediate and continues to grow. Of the 650 DCMC employees, 25% have collectively given $70,000. 100% of the Door County Medical Center Board of Directors, Senior Leadership and Department Leadership have contributed.

“No one likes to think about what will happen to our grandparents and parents someday down the road, as their independent living skills change, but it will bring peace of mind to know that DCMC will have this facility to take care of these loved ones – that’s why I contributed,” says Erin Shortall.

“It never ceases to amaze me how committed the community is to helping ensure that quality health care continues to be provided at DCMC,” adds Herlache, “Growing older is something we all get to do, if we’re lucky. I personally feel that we owe it to our senior population, to ourselves, to build a state of the art facility for generations to come. It’s up to us to step up to the plate once again and get this built.”
“Because this is not a profit center for the hospital, we are relying on philanthropy to make this project a reality. The Horton’s seed contribution of $2 million laid the groundwork. Now, as a community, we must raise $5 million of the $9.5 million in construction costs,” says Herlache.

To make a gift of any size, visit dcmedical.org/giving or contact Door County Medical Center Foundation.

Published 5/31/2018 11:47:30 AM
Tags: news, skilled nursing facility

Search our blog

Popular Tags

3D Mammography   75   75th   acid reflux   addiction   adrc   advance directive   Affective   alcohol   Algoma   Algoma Community Wellness Center   als   alzheimer's disease   Ambassador   American College of Healthcare Executives   Angel Ball   anniversary   antibody treatment   anti-bullying   apnea   art   art for health   art gallery   arthritis   athlete   athletic edge camp   athletic trainer   Auxiliary   award   awards   Awareness   back   behavioral health   bill   bone marrow transplant   Bravo   Breast Cancer Awareness Month   breast cancer prevention   breastfeeding   Brian   brussels sprout slaw   Burkitt Leukemia   C.H.I.P.   cancer   cardiac   cardiopulmonary services   care manager   cataracts   catholic   catholic sisters   Celebrate Community   celebration   center   Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services   ceremony   certification   childcare   children   CHNA   cold flu prevention   colon cancer   colonoscopy   community   community health   Community outreach   Coronavirus   COVID 19   COVID-19 booster   COVID-19 vaccine   critical access hospital   CT scanner   cyberbullying   da Vinci robot   da Vinci Surgical System   daisy award   Daylight Savings Time   DCMC   DCMC Auxiliary   DCMC staff   dementia   dental clinic   dentist   depot   depression   dermatology   diabetes   diagnostic imaging   Diana Wallace   diet   directcare   Disorder   dogs   Domestic Violence Awareness   donate   donor   Door County   Door County CARES   door county half marathon   Door County Meals Cooperative   door county schools   Door County Triathlon   Door County YMCA   Door Healthy Weight Center   Door Orthopedic Center   Dr. Daniel Tomaszewski   Dr. Elizabeth Gaida   Dr. Mark Jordan   Dr. Michael St. Jean   Dr. Reisner   Dr. Rory Johnson   Dr. Shaun Melarvie   drive-through clinic   e-cigs   economic impact   economy   Edge 3D   Education   emergency department   employee art   employment   environment   environmental stewardship   exercise   eye surgery   fair   Family   family medicine   family practice   farmer's market   first responders   fitness   five   five star hospital   Florence Nightingale   flu   foot   foot pain   Foundation   fundraiser   gallery   gardening   general surgery   Gerald   GERD   gynecological procedures   handwashing   happy holidays   head   health   health insurance   health tips   healthcare   healthcare career   healthcare decisions   healthcare leader   healthcare leaders   healthy eating   heart   heart healthy   heart-attack   heartburn   Heartburn and Reflux Center   Help Our Heroes   hernia   hernia screening   hip replacement   history   HOPELINE   hospice   hospital   House and Garden Walk   HPV   Human Kindness Project   immunization   infant   insomnia   insurance workshop   international overdose awareness day   internships   job   job openings   jody boes   joint replacement   June   kelsie ladick   kids   Kids' health   kim   knee replacement   Lab Drive-Thru   LEAP   lice   life   LifeAssist   living will   luke spude   lyme disease   mammography   marinara sauce   medical services   medication   memory   memory clinic   memory loss   men's health   men's health month   mental health   mental illness   milk   ministry   ministry fund   mission and values   MRI   National Donate Life Month   national heath decisions day   national hospital week   National Nurses Week   National Organ Donation Day   National Women’s History Month   navigator   New Year   newborn   news   no surprise act   non-profits   North Shore Medical Clinic   Northeast Wisconsin Technical College   novel coronavirus   nurse   nursing   nursing excellence   nursing program   nutrition   nwtc   obesity   OB-GYN   open house   ophthalmologist   opioid   OPSU   organ   organ donor   orthopedics   outpatient surgery   outreach   pap test   patient   patient care   patient financial services   Patti Balestrieri   Paula Hobart   pediatrics   pelvic health   pets   physical activity   physical therapy   plastic surgery   podiatrist   post exercise tips   PRC   Prevea   prevention   primary care   Providers   race   recipe   recovery   recruitment   reflux   rehab services   resolutions   respiratory illness   robotic surgery   rotator cuff repair   RSV   running   rural   rural healthcare   SAAM   SAD   safe haven   scholarship   scholarships   school   School Nursing   Seasonal   senior life solutions   senior therapy   Seniors   services   sexual assault   Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner   Shop and Dine Day   Sister Bay   Sister Bay Clinic   skilled nursing   skilled nursing facility   skin cancer   Sleep   sleep disorder   sleep lab   smoking   snf   social justice   sparc   specialty providers   sports   sports medicine   sports training   St. Francis   star   state-of-the-art   Stephens   stroke patients   studer group   suicide awareness   suicide awareness month   suicide prevention   summer   summer programs   sun care   surgery   sweet dreams   swiggum   technology   Teen health   Teens   telemedicine   teleNICU   telepediatrics   The Angel Ball   The Community's Garden   The Healing Project   therapy   ticks   tissue donor   to   tooth fairy   training tips   Treatment   triathlon   urgent care   vaccination   vaccinations   vaccine   vaping   virtual appontments   virtual visit   vision   vlog   volunteers   wall   Washington Island   wellness   Wendy Ulrikson   women's center   women's health   work injuries   world breastfeeding week   Worrick   wound care   years   YMCA   youth workshops