Published: April 30, 2008 02:44 pm            

Pursuing parents’ dream

Head of management firm for new supportive living facility fulfilling dad’s request

By PAUL LORENZ

paul.lorenz@mcleansborotimesleader.com

McLEANSBORO — Shortly before he died, Blair Minton’s father made a request of his son.

“I want you to promise me McLeansboro will get a supportive living facility,” Bernard Minton told his son.

Last week, Blair Minton took another step toward fulfilling that request.

Minton joined community leaders and others here to formally break ground for the Fox Meadows Supportive Living Community.

“Dad and mom always wanted this type of facility in McLeansboro,” Minton told a small crowd gathered April 24 at the construction site in the 600 block of South Marshall Street.

A Hamilton County native, Minton is founder and president of BMA Management, Ltd. of Bradley, which manages several senior living communities throughout Illinois and will manage Fox Meadows.

Supportive living facilities are designed for adults age 65 and older of all income levels “who may need help to maintain their independence but do not require skilled nursing care,” a BMA news release said.

Fox Meadows “will probably open sometime in December or January,” Minton told a Hamilton County Chamber of Commerce luncheon crowd later the same day. The project “has already lost 25 construction days” due to the weather, he noted.

The 41-unit, one-story facility will offer studio and one-bedroom apartments, and “we must set aside 33 apartments for low income,” Minton said.

Once the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services certifies Fox Meadows as a supportive living facility, older adults who only receive Social Security or who are on Medicaid can qualify for residency, the BMA news release said.

There will be “nobody over the age of 65 in Hamilton County (who) cannot afford to live here,” Minton said of Fox Meadows.

Located on South Marshall Street between the Food Park grocery store and Hamilton Memorial Nursing Center, Fox Meadows will be the first supportive living facility in McLeansboro.

Mayor Dick Deitz called the ground-breaking a “historic day” for the city. He said when local officials went to Springfield to seek approval for a supportive living facility here, they had 45 minutes to plead their case.

“I have to believe today that that was the most important 45 minutes this community has spent in a long, long time,” Deitz said.

Fox Meadows residents will have three meals a day, housekeeping and laundry services available to them; in addition, each apartment will have an emergency response system, the BMA news release said.

Randy Dauby, president of the Fox Meadows Board of Directors, said he’s pleased to see the project “that has been needed in this community for several years become a reality.”

“Fox Meadows will especially benefit the more than 60 percent of the older adult population in Hamilton County and the surrounding area who do not have the financial resources to afford private-pay assisted living,” Dauby said.

Illinois, though it ranks 49th in nursing home reimbursement, has the top supportive living facility program in the country, Minton said.

“Illinois is light years ahead of other states,” he said.

Other BMA-managed communities include Heritage Woods of Benton and Mt. Vernon and Prairie Living at Chautauqua in Carbondale.

“We strongly believe that communities such as Fox Meadows serve as a great alternative to nursing-home care or to struggling alone at home,” Minton said. “Our emphasis is on maintaining the health, wellness, dignity and independence of each resident.”

        

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