Specialty Care Assisted Living Facilities
(St. Martin's in the Pines, Birmingham, Alabama; Fairhaven, Birmingham, Alabama; Wesley Manor, Dothan, Alabama; Wesley Gardens, Montgomery, Alabama)

When the Alabama Department of Public Health identified the need for a new category of assisted living care geared toward dementia patients, existing facilities were given an opportunity to apply for Certificates of Need for creation of the new Specialty Care units in their properties. The CON application requirements allowed a short period within which the facilities had to submit not only their application paperwork but also a proposed design.

Sherlock, Smith & Adams was able to answer the call for quick, detailed and accurate research of the Specialty Care Assisted Living Facility guidelines, and respond with workable designs for each client's particular situation. Regulations having strong impact on design included requirements for special controlled ingress and egress, provision of a suitable exterior space for the use of Specialty Care residents, and creation of a separate Specialty Care dining area.

The real challenge in answering each client's needs lay in provision for each of the required spaces and attributes while responding to code limitations in a number of totally different building situations, ranging from multistory complexes to sprawling, spread-out campuses. SS&A found a way to treat each situation uniquely and successfully in a very short time frame.