A new assisted living and memory care facility is planned for the corner of Falcon Ridge Parkway and Bertha Howe Lane next to Mesa View Regional Hospital. A 12-month construction schedule is set to begin in early 2018. Photo submitted.

“There’s not quite anything like this available for seniors in Mesquite,” said Darryl Fisher, president of Mesa Assisted Living, LLC. In an exclusive interview with the Mesquite Local News, Fisher described the new 57,000 square foot building as an ideal place to carry out his company’s mission of “caring people serving people, improving lives. Those six words define who we are, what we’re doing, and why. That’s how we approach our business. We want to create an environment where we can improve people’s lives.”

“We’re really excited to come to Mesquite and get involved in the community. Our facility will be a nice complement to the services that are already available,” Fisher said.

The single-story facility will hold 52 units of assisted living and 24 beds of memory care with the ability to expand. Each assisted living resident will have their own private living quarters and will share a common dining room. While 24-hour on-site nursing care is not typically available in these facilities, meals and laundry services are provided. Many on-site social and recreational activities will be available as will private van transportation for residents’ use.

A new assisted living and memory care facility is planned for the corner of Falcon Ridge Parkway and Bertha Howe Lane next to Mesa View Regional Hospital. A 12-month construction schedule is set to begin in early 2018. Photo submitted.

Fisher’s company operates four similar facilities in northern Nevada, one in southern Oregon, and is building a new one in Yuma, Arizona. He said his company first started looking at Mesquite in 2012. “It looks like Mesquite is recovering nicely from the economic downturn. The whole community is really beautiful. The city has been very good to work with.”

The city council approved a conditional use permit for the facility at its meeting on June 27 and the Architectural & Site Plan Review is being processed administratively by city staff. The assisted living center will be located on the corner of Falcon Ridge Parkway and Bertha Howe Lane, next to Mesa View Regional Hospital.

“While we still have some planning work to do, the earlier we can start construction the better,” Fisher said. He expects construction to start around the end of this year or the beginning of next year. He says actual construction takes approximately 10 months followed by two months of state licensing.

While his company will serve as the general contractor, Fisher said “we like to use local sub-contractors as much as possible. We expect to start that process in the next 45 days.”

The facility will employ around 50 people including medication technicians, nurses, caregivers and dining room staff.

“Sometimes people think that when a person moves to an assisted living facility they are losing their independence. But in reality, they gain so much from the socialization to the consistent nutrition and meals to medication management. Their lives actually improve,” Fisher said.

“We have a program called ‘Ageless Dreams’ in which we challenge our residents to come up with an activity they want to do and then we make it happen.” He went on to describe how two residents in one of his company’s facilities wanted to go fishing for a day, something they hadn’t done in years.

“Too often people think the exciting times are over in their lives. We want to focus on picking out opportunities people want to experience and helping them fulfill their dreams. With these two guys, we took the bus and left at 4:30 in the morning with fishing gear, food and beverages. We went to Pyramid Lake and fished for half a day.

“It’s about keeping life going and keeping it meaningful. We’re very focused on that,” Fisher said.