The Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services this week will open a new wing of their Transitional Living Center on Ravenwood Drive, marking the culmination of the first phase of a three-year expansion project.
The Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services this week will open a new wing of their Transitional Living Center on Ravenwood Drive, marking the culmination of the first phase of a three-year expansion project.
The work will increase the center’s capacity from nine to 16 beds and provide additional space and facilities to help residents in crisis learn to manage their mental health while remaining in their communities, said board Executive Director Christine Lakomiak.
Six of the center’s nine current residents will move into the new west wing while contractors remodel the existing structure and complete an east wing, she said during a recent walk-through of the facility.
Chester Township-based Millstone Management Group plans to complete construction in February. Along with seven additional beds, the renovated facility will include a larger kitchen, family visitation area, multipurpose rooms, storage and an outdoor deck, Lakomiak said, adding the project will more than double the TLC’s square footage from 3,600 to approximately 7,600.
The GCBMH owns the building and contracts with Ravenwood Health for staffing, Lakomiak said.
The purpose of the center is to keep individuals in their community while they receive care, she said.
“If someone is at risk, maybe they have gone into in-patient hospitalization and now they’re ready for a step down, they may come to this facility for a period of time to help with medication management skills, learn some independent living skills and then move on to independent housing,” Lakomiak said. “If we can keep people out of the hospital and provide community care, that’s always best. People thrive better when they’re in their own communities and not several counties away from their support networks.”
Ryan Hillstrom, project superintendent for Millstone, said the new building represents a vast improvement over the existing structure.
“I think the (new) space is great, especially (considering) what they’re going to be moving in from,” Hillstrom said.
Both Hillstrom and Lakomiak described the original wing, built in the 1990s, as worn from years of use, cluttered due to limited storage space and much darker than the new structure, which features modern LED lighting.
“(The original building) was beautiful, I’m sure, when it was built, but it’s very worn,” Lakomiak said.
All existing space will be remodeled, and the three wings will feature consistent flooring, paint colors, lighting and design, she said, noting residents often arrive with all of their belongings in two bags, and the new bedrooms and basement areas offer more room for secure storage.
The facility will also include safety features for residents in crisis, such as “ligature resistant” bathroom fixtures.
“I think this space is an incredible place to heal, for recovery, to learn independent living skills, for people to recover and live a healthy life,” Lakomiak said. “This is such an upgrade.”
Despite the aesthetic and safety improvements, Ravenwood Director of Adult Intensive Services and TLC Director Sam Jackson said the project’s primary goal is addressing the rising need for crisis stabilization in the community.
“The changes made in general, the addition of beds is because there has been an increased need,” Jackson said. “All the ‘new’ features we get with the new building are really just extras, the main focus is really to help more individuals in the community.”
The facility is currently at capacity and typically has a waitlist, she said.
Staff also wanted to avoid shutting down during the renovation process and completing the project in phases has been a challenge, Jackson said. Even so, she said residents have enjoyed the contractors’ presence.
“The residents love having construction here. We were surprised, we weren’t sure how they would react,” said Jackson. “It, for the most part, has not been noisy. Having new faces around, the residents really enjoy it. One resident does not want construction to leave. He really enjoys having them.”
The center is staffed 24/7, 365 days per year with at least two staff members, along with a full-time program manager, part-time clinician and full-time clinical coordinator, Jackson said, adding the round-the-clock care helps staff better understand residents’ needs.
“We work with families a lot, too,” Jackson said. “For example, the onset of schizophrenia, because we will get that a lot, that’s a big diagnosis that we will bring in for crisis stabilization. The onset for males is 18 to 21, 22. For females, it’s 25 through 27, 28. Just hearing those ages, you can see how they might be in school, they might have kids, they have lives and then they have this onset. That’s a really huge thing for the whole family to have their loved one be productive, be working and then not only does the individual’s life change, but their family’s life changes and what do they do?
“We help them to see, ‘They’re still your son, they’re still your daughter, still your loved one,’” Jackson continued. “Things may look different. But there’s ways to manage this. We will do our best to get the individual to the highest level of productivity we can. Our goal is always to get them back into the community.”
To support that goal, the new wings will include a larger family visitation area near the entrance, a bigger kitchen for teaching cooking skills and living room spaces where residents can socialize, read, watch TV or play games.
Staff worked with Cleveland-based architecture firm Perspectus to incorporate features they knew residents needed, computer workspaces — absent in the original building — and large picture windows overlooking the hills and farmland south of the center.
“These living rooms were very purposeful in design,” Jackson said. “We love the large windows in the current building, where we can grow different plants and we can see the fireworks on the Fourth of July from the Geauga County Fairgrounds.We can see sunrises and sunsets. The design was very intentional on the architect’s part. We really, really love that.”
