Twenty-two senior citizens at the Geauga County Pleasant Hill Home will be relocated to other facilities before Aug. 4, when the historic facility will be closed.
Twenty-two senior citizens at the Geauga County Pleasant Hill Home will be relocated to other facilities before Aug. 4, when the historic facility will be closed.
Geauga County Commissioners voted June 12 to close the home as state law allows, according to a press release dated June 12.
“The board has taken this action pursuant to authority provided in section 5155.31 (B) of the Ohio Revised Code for the reason that the population of the county home is too small for economical and efficient operation,” the release reads.
The 4,500-square-foot home built in 1875 sits on more than 170 acres of property owned by the county. The two irregularly-shaped parcels are located at 13211 Aquilla Road and the property has a market value of about $1.57 million, according to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office website.
The county bought the property in 1839 and hired a contractor to build the original structure, part of which still stands behind the superintendent’s home on the property, according to the Pleasant Hills website.
The red brick structure now in use was designed to provide one bedroom for each resident with the capacity to house up to 36 residents.
Admission criteria on the site shows applicants must be Geauga County residents, ambulatory and able to provide his or her own personal care with minimal assistance and without a need for nursing care.
Karen DeCola, director, is on leave and Geauga County Department on Aging Director Jessica Boalt is serving as interim director of Pleasant Hill.
Boalt said the residents and their guardians received letters on June 12 explaining the need to relocate them by August.
“We were pleasantly surprised. Most of them accepted the situation very, very well,” she said.
She and the social services team talked to every client and many already had suggestions on where they would like to move, Boalt said.
After going through all the files on the clients, it was possible to find appropriate housing where each client’s level of care can be met and none will become homeless, she said, adding most wanted to stay in the area.
“There is no cookie-cutter method,” Boalt said.
The residents range in age from the late 40s to mid-90s, she said.
Each paid a residency fee to the county to live at Pleasant Hill according to his or her situation. The fees were set by DiCola, Boalt said.
“The board expresses its sincere appreciation to the staff of the county home, and long-time Superintendent and Director Karen DeCola, for their dedicated service to the county and the residents of the county home over the years, and further pledges its support to do whatever it can to provide an orderly transition for the current residents of the home to new living arrangements, and to support the efforts of the current employees who serve those residents in their pursuit of the new opportunities awaiting them as they continue their careers,” the press release read.
