Hospice campus targets senior living complex

FORT MYERS — Volunteers of America, the nonprofit parent organization of Cape Coral's Gulf Coast Village, has broken ground on The Preserve, a new state-of-the-art skilled nursing and assisted living community in Fort Myers.

The Preserve is the first building to break ground at Hope Preserve, a health care campus planned to include multiple facilities and organizations dedicated to caring for seniors and for people who are chronically ill, according to a statement. The three-story, 118,000-square-foot community is currently under construction at the northeast corner of Six Mile Cypress Parkway and Michael G. Rippe Parkway in south Fort Myers.

“While envisioning the ideal Hope Preserve campus, we knew it was important to include partners that would complement our mission to improve the quality of life for people who are frail, aging or coping with serious illnesses,” Hope Healthcare President and CEO Samira Beckwith says in the release. “The Preserve's groundbreaking marks the first step in addressing our region's growing need for comforting care.”

The Preserve, the release adds, also addresses the growing need for skilled nursing, transitional care and assisted living in Southwest Florida. Plans include 75 private rooms to serve senior residents with specialized or advanced health care needs. Resident units will be designed around four neighborhoods, each with its own social, dining and staff support areas. A dedicated memory support neighborhood will cater specifically to residents with dementia, who require a secured living setting in addition to 24/7 medical assistance.

Volunteers of America has operates more than 30 senior living and care communities nationwide. Founded in 1896, it helps more than 1.4 million people in over 400 communities.