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COLUMBIANA -- The Whispering Pines Village is planning to expand its services with a new Memory Care Center.
Plans for the new center were presented to the city's planning commission on Dec. 12 for site plan review approval.
Kevin Price of KDC Properties, LLC said that in working with Whispering Pines he discovered there is a "big need" for a memory care center on site.
Whispering Pines Village is an independent and assisted living facility located on East Park Avenue. The Memory Care Center is expected to be roughly 18,000 square feet all on one floor, with 30 apartments for those in need of the services.
Whispering Pines Executive Director Kathy Wingert said that the senior living community is currently licensed as an assisted living facility and as such is allowed by state regulations to offer independent living on site, assisted living, and memory care.
"If we had memory care we would have the full continuum of care on site. Right now if somebody is aging and placed in our community we have to send them to someone else's memory care or skilled nursing," she said.
She added that keeping people on site for the service is a "huge selling point."
"It's a benefit to families because they fall in love with the staff just like we fall in love with them," she said.
Wingert and Sales and Marketing Director Beth Rance both began working for Whispering Pines just under two years ago.
"We inherited a fantastic reputation from the Schwartz family," Wingert said.
Construction on the new Memory Care Center is expected to begin next year.
Wingert said that she and Rance will continue to serve as executive director and sales and marketing director over all buildings, while staff in the individual buildings will be overseen by the Community Leadership Team.
Also during the planning commission meeting, the commission approved a site plan review for a tobacco and vape store at 24 S. Main St.
Hussein Muthana presented his plans to the commission. He said the business will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., will be regulated by the state, and will not permit smoking inside or outside of the facility.
He also owns and operates a business in Somerset, Pa.