Wood County plans $2.4–$2.8 million remodel at Edgewater Haven to add assisted‑living units

Wood County Board Chair Lance Plimel said the county is planning a remodel at Edgewater Haven that the Health & Human Services committee expects will cost about $2.4 million to $2.8 million and will reconfigure a wing into apartment‑style assisted‑living units.

Plimel told WFHR that board members toured the facility and that the project is still in planning: “We have an anticipated project out there that’s gonna run somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.4 to $2,800,000 when we’re done,” he said. He added the work is a remodel rather than a complete rebuild and designs are not finalized.

The county intends the changes to shift the resident mix toward settings that allow people to transition from lesser to greater care without leaving the community. Plimel said county officials expect the remodel to reduce county spending over the next 10 years by changing the client mix compared with current skilled‑nursing costs.

Plimel also framed the effort against state policy and local finances, criticizing the ‘‘bed tax’’ that charges for unused capacity and calling it conflicting with the state’s messaging on preparing for demographic change. “It drives me nuts,” he said of the tax, arguing the remodel may help eliminate some of that cost pressure.

Next steps: planning continues and the funds for the project have not been approved; county officials will return to the committee and board with final designs and any formal funding requests.

Provenance: Plimel’s update and cost estimate were given during a Health & Human Services committee update (transcript discussion began with an Edgewater update and cost estimate and continued into description of the CBRF conversion).