Evangelical Homes of Michigan to Purchase St. Joseph Mercy Saline

Evangelical Homes of Michigan (EHM) and St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor announced on Jan. 21 a letter of intent to transfer ownership of the St. Joseph Mercy Saline health building located at 400 Russell St. in Saline.

The 100,000-square-foot facility became available when St. Joseph’s relocated its urgent care and outpatient services to Michigan Avenue last July to better serve its patients.

“Evangelical Homes and St. Joe’s have a shared commitment to the community, to health care and to those we serve,” says Denise Rabidoux, president and CEO of Evangelical Homes, which had been leasing part of the building since 2011. “We are in the business of serving older adults and Washtenaw County has been a good home for us. The opportunity to expand our services in a location where we were already operating simply made sense.”

When finalized, Evangelical Homes’ purchase would ensure the building’s future as a health resource to the Saline community.

“We are pleased to be able to provide Evangelical Homes with a permanent home in Saline,” says David Brooks, president of St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and Livingston, which oversees health services in Saline. “Following this transaction, St. Joe’s will continue serving Saline residents with a strong network of urgent care, outpatient services, physician practices, and nearby St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and Chelsea hospitals.”

Evangelical Homes has been leasing 22,000 square feet of the building to operate the Redies Center for Rehabilitation and Healthy Living, a short-term rehabilitation center. The Redies Center provides a full range of outpatient and community services. EHM invested $5.2 million to create a state-of-the-art rehab and wellness program featuring advanced aquatic therapy. The Redies Center employs more than 40 exercise specialists, physical, occupational and speech therapists, and a full complement of nurses and medical staff.

St. Joseph’s and EHM will be entering an agreement that will ensure community benefit in the future. The community room located onsite will remain in its original intended use to provide educational classes and events for the community. In addition, the primary care and specialty physician offices will remain in place.

Simultaneously, EHM also announced that it will sign a long-term lease agreement with Arbor Hospice & Palliative Care, one of the region’s largest and most respected hospice care organizations. Arbor plans to relocate its inpatient hospice residence, as part of an overall expansion of residential care, to Evangelical Home Saline.

“EHM has been partners with Arbor for years. Their services, which include complementary therapies such as music, massage and pet, will enhance the wide array of senior services and support programs that EHM offers. This was a natural partnership and will be a wonderful addition to the space,” Rabidoux says. The purchase of the former Saline Hospital by EHM will allow this synergy and alignment with Arbor Hospice to happen.

“Arbor looks forward to strengthening our long-standing partnership with EHM while introducing an innovative residential care option offering quality, compassionate end-of-life care for Washtenaw County hospice patients and their families,” says Gloria D. Brooks, president of Arbor Hospice & Palliative Care. “This allows our nonprofit hospice agency to meet the end-of-life needs of our families and enhance the continuum of care we currently offer, while working with a valued community partner.”

In Saline, EHM also operates the Brecon Village retirement community, a memory support center and an adult day program, as well as other products and services that cater to those who wish to age in their own homes.

Rabidoux is inviting input from Saline residents to submit their vision and ideas for the center at http://www.EHMchoices.org/CenterofExcellence. Feedback will be accepted until the end of February 2016.

“Saline is a community with a big heart,” says Rabidoux. “Because we are so early in this process, I want to learn from our neighbors what they would like to see in the space and open ourselves to new ideas and concepts. While EHM will soon own the space, it really is a community resource and we want to keep it that way.”