Senior care center slated for Sisters

Construction of a 40- to 50-bed assisted living center for seniors is tentatively scheduled to break ground in Sisters in November.

Randy Scheel, who will own and operate the facility with his wife Vicki, hopes to have the doors open by next July.

Randy Scheel said the center will occupy Lot 1 and Lot 2 in the New Sisters Village development, west of Pine Street and south of Cascade Avenue. Purchase of the lots was to have been completed on August 3.

The two-story facility will occupy 32,000 square feet. Construction and furnishing will run about $3.5 million, according to Vicki Scheel.

"The Heritage at Sisters Village" will provide care for residents able to be "totally independent," as well as those needing fairly intensive assistance, said Vicki Scheel.

"It will run short of full nursing home care," said Randy. He said both ethics and the law requires that those who are chronically bed-bound be cared for in a skilled nursing facility or hospital.

Vicki said the center will have approximately 25 employees, including nurses, caregivers, activity professional, housekeepers and cooks.

The Heritage will have a "full-blown, state-of-the-art central kitchen serving three meals a day," according to Randy. They plan to hire a chef.

"One of our core beliefs is that eating is a joy and dining should be a wonderful experience. We will put a great deal of emphasis on meals," he said.

There will be a library and book clubs, church services, a beauty and barber salon.

Some, if not all, rooms will have fireplaces and kitchenettes, with kitchen facilities available to residents in the recreation room.

Vicki said residents would also have access to other amenities of New Sisters Village, including the swimming pool and recreation center.

"We think the location is just incredible, the proximity to town and everything within walking distance will allow (residents) to feel like they are part of the community."

The senior center has been part of the master plan for New Sisters Village since inception. The development is not connected to efforts by the Sisters Area Affordable Housing Solutions, a subcommittee of the Community Action Team, to draw such a facility to Sisters.

SAAHS sent out a survey in June to determine the need for senior housing in the area.

Randy said he and Vicki had been working on the project locally for about three months.

Randy and Vicki Scheel currently operate the 24-bed Ft. Vancouver Alzheimer's Care center in Vancouver, Washington.

According Randy, Vicki had been involved in the management of care centers since the early '70s. The Scheels were married in 1986. They moved to Los Angeles for four years where Randy was involved in corporate planning.

They returned when Vicki's parents, who owned the 92-bed Ft. Vancouver Convalescent Center, suggested they might come home to manage that facility.

"I was more than ready to leave L.A. after four years and move back to the Northwest," Randy said.

In 1992, they opened Vancouver's "first dedicated Alzheimer's facility," said Randy, which in addition to living assistance, provided respite care and day care.

Vicki said she hopes to move to Sisters as soon as the Scheels sell their home in Vancouver.

nated $736 in cash and gift certificates for the refurbishing of a 1969 Chevelle by Sisters High school students. The car will be raffled at next year's car show.