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Workers guide a replica of the MU Jesse Hall dome to its
place atop TigerPlace, the School of Nursing’s newest
asset. The school also is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
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One-of-a-Kind
Senior Care
By Erica Brooks
In May, the University of Missouri’s
Sinclair
School of Nursing will open the doors of TigerPlace,
a unique, 33-unit, independent living development for seniors.
Emerging as a national leader in gerontology,
MU’s School of Nursing is working to improve the nursing
home industry. TigerPlace, the residential facility model for
the future, will be the school’s newest asset.
“We’re looking to develop new
ways to care for seniors to keep them healthier, longer,”
said Marilyn Rantz, director of the TigerPlace project. “We
want to keep seniors active and mobile.”
The school is partnering with Missouri-based
Americare, a leader
in residential senior services. TigerPlace, a model of geriatric
education, research, care delivery and environmental design, will
enable residents to “age in place” even as their health
care increases. This concept is unlike the current tiered system
that requires individuals to move to new facilities to accommodate
their increasing medical and nursing care needs. Couples living
in TigerPlace will no longer face separation when one needs a
higher level of care.
Left to right: Charles
Servey, TigerPlace executive director; Marilyn Rantz, MU
nursing professor and director of TigerPlace; and Jean Summers,
vice president of the assisted living division of Americare
Systems; stand on the roof of TigerPlace during the Dec.
17 dedication ceremony.
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Senior Care, the School of Nursing’s
licensed home health agency, will provide ongoing assessments
of residents’ needs and such activities as exercise and
health classes on site. All this will be coordinated with residents’
physicians and other health-care providers. TigerPlace, located
on 2910 Bluff Creek Dr. in Columbia, is near the A/C exit off
Highway 63.
In addition to health-care services, TigerPlace
will offer its residents opportunities to interact with the University.
Residents can enjoy on- and off-site activities such as lectures,
concerts, art exhibits, sporting events and cultural exchanges.
Pets will be welcome and will benefit from care and treatment
by students and faculty of the MU College
of Veterinary Medicine.
Nursing and Americare are collaborating with
experts from other schools and departments at MU. Medicine,
social work, health
professions, computer
engineering, business,
landscaping and environmental
design have each been part of the planning process and will
continue to offer services to TigerPlace.
“The appeal is the uniqueness of this
project,” Charles Servey, executive director of TigerPlace
said. “We are creating a community and a sense of family
to enhance the quality of life.”
This is the first time that Americare has
collaborated with a university; and no other school of nursing
has developed a similar program of home health care for seniors.
“We hope that it can be a model facility,
not only in Columbia, but also for other universities and long-term
care providers,” Rantz said. “We want to have national
impact, improving the care of seniors across the country.”
Rantz has encouraged alumni to check out TigerPlace
as an opportunity for themselves or elderly family members.
“Our goal is to help people age well,”
Rantz said.
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Last Update:
September 3, 2008
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