Assisted-living facility for poor set for completion in December

Remodeling of McKinley Towers will be finished by late December.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- The first assisted-living facility for the poor in Trumbull County will be in Niles.
Donald Emerson Jr., Trumbull County Metropolitan Housing Authority executive director, said 18 to 20 rooms are being converted for assisted living at McKinley Towers on Seneca off Robbins Avenue.
The work, Emerson explained, is being done as part of a $7 million rehabilitation of the seven-floor building that contains 108 rooms for people who are elderly and disabled.
"This is an effort to provide assisted living for the low income," Emerson said, noting such an offering will delay or prevent nursing facility placement.
Planning and construction has been ongoing for three years, and will be completed by the end of December.
The fifth, sixth and seventh floors are completed and work continues on the lower four floors.
State pilot program
Under a pilot program instituted by the Ohio Department of Aging that begins this week, the elderly with low incomes may qualify for assisted living rent-free. They will have to pay for their food and other services, Emerson explained.
One of the features of the remodeled building will be a commercial-type kitchen so food can be prepared for those who need assistance.
McKinley Towers will be the first facility to provide assisted living for low-income people in the county because the start of the program coincides with the remodeling.
Those selected for the program will come from McKinley Towers and from other TMHA-operated housing facilities.
Emerson said there will be 1,800 such rooms offered statewide.
Medicaid will pay each individual $1,800 a month for such services as dressing, toileting, housekeeping, laundry and social and recreational programs so they can retain their independence.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will pay the individual's housing subsidy, Emerson explained.
The cost savings, Emerson said, are from those who are on Medicaid who won't have to be housed in an expensive for-profit nursing home.
Resident selection
Because there is a four-month qualification process, it will be November before individuals can be selected. Also, the facility has to meet standards set by the Ohio Department of Health as an assisted-living facility.
"It will be virtually seamless," Emerson said of qualifying residents and the building's being ready for them.
"We hope it grows so we can expand the program," Emerson said, noting he eventually wants 25 rooms of assisted living in McKinley Towers.
Construction has gone well, Emerson said, except for the second floor. Asbestos has been found on that floor and will be "attacked" after the fourth floor is completed, the director said.
During construction of the top three floors, residents were relocated in other parts of the building while others moved out of McKinley Towers.
Residents on the first four floors have been moved to the top three floors, Emerson explained, noting TMHA will make an effort to get back the former residents.
"The challenge is to gear up to get them back," he said.
yovich@vindy.com