COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Larson Hall Project Announced

Larson Hall is named in memory of Dr. Walter Larson, longtime Cheboygan physician.

Public encouraged to participate

CHEBOYGAN— The Cheboygan Memorial Hospital (CMH) Development Council has announced that the new project for fund raising will be Larson Hall, the long-term care facility attached to the Hospital.

Larson Hall is a 50-bed extended care unit that was opened in 1969. It is named in honor of Walter Larson, MD in recognition of his many years of dedicated service in the practice of medicine to the people of Cheboygan and the Straits Area.

A goal of $700,000 has been set for the project and will include: total remodeling of all residents rooms; added safety features, including the installation of a sprinkling system and adding electronic smoke detectors; a new nurse call system and the addition of a walk-in tub along with a new shower stall and expansion of the shower room for ease of mobility and improved safety.

Also included in the project will be the addition of eight rehabilitation rooms with piped-in oxygen. This change will allow patients to recuperate locally when additional care is needed following acute care. Patients who are discharged from the Hospital, but are not well enough to care for themselves, will be able to go to Larson Hall right away for rehabilitation. This will further enhance the organization’s ability to care for rehabilitation patients in Cheboygan.

This year about nine million men and women over the age of 65 will need long-term care. Many will be cared for at home, but according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 40 percent of the people who reach age 65 will likely enter a nursing home at some point in their lives—either as a full-time resident or for short-term rehabilitation services. About 10 percent of those who enter a nursing home will stay there five years or more.

For more information on the project, contact the Director of Development at CMH, (231) 627-1232.