Thursday, August 23, 2007

LinnWood owners purchase Deer Park nursing homes

by Clarke Davis

Ken Hartle, owner and manager of LinnWood Place, Valley Falls, has announced the purchase of Deer Park nursing homes south of Meriden.

Deer Park consists of two housing units that provide supervised nursing care for eight residents each. The two properties were built and operated by Gene Linton and Ellen Saling in March 2003 and October 2004.

A new corporation was formed called Deer Park Senior Group Homes LLC. The owners are Hartle and R. Dennis Casey, Olean, N.Y., the same two who own LinnWood Place. A minority stockholder in Deer Park is the manager, Laura Forbes.

“This was a good move for us to expand,” Hartle said. “The smaller homes provide a better quality of care and there is less of an institutional feel about them.”

From a business aspect, Hartle said there will be a better use of resources by combining some things to be more proficient. All of the accounting and book work will be done through the Valley Falls office and they will all have the same menu to make it easier to purchase food and plan meals.

“We have also studied the best operating policies of both places to make better improvements in care overall,” he said.

Forbes was employed at LinnWood prior to becoming the manager at Deer Park. She is a native of Ventura, Calif., and her husband, Dick, is a member of the Seabees, the U.S. Naval construction force.

She moved to the Meriden area in February and he is currently on a three-month rotation stationed out of California. She said he was from the Effingham area where his family resides.

The couple has three children, Miranda, 11, Kierston, 10, and Colby, 6.

Forbes had business management experience before coming to LinnWood. She has since acquired her certifications in nursing care, medication aide, and completed the operator’s course to manage a nursing home. She has applied for inclusion in a nursing program starting in a few months.

Deer Park and LinnWood now employ about 50 people. LinnWood has 15 assisted living apartments and eight in its supervised nursing home, LinnWood Home Plus.

Hartle and Casey purchased LinnWood Place Aug. 10, 2006, from Marilyn Zieg and the late Robert Zieg.

Linton and Saling remain as consultants if needed following the sale. Linton said they were taking time to relax and had not decided on what project to undertake next.