It was January of 2017 when a group of investors brought an idea to the Carroll County Board of Supervisors. Nancy and Kenny Snyder, Chad Kanne and Matt and Kelly Wendl banded together as partners when they learned that new state regulations would require the county to move residents out of the Mallard View facility on the north end of Carroll and integrate them into the community. Officials were left with determining what options were available for the county-owned building. The outcome was placing the parcel, which included a facility housing 27,000 square-feet of space on the main level, up for sale. Sealed bids were presented, and the group was awarded the bid to begin renovation for a new memory care facility, Journey Senior Services. Kenny says they had been entertaining this idea for the past several years.
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Construction began in June of 2017 and included the installation of new sprinkler and heating and cooling systems as well as completion of cosmetic updates to the building that has had little changed over the past 35 years. And today (Tuesday), the final tour from the Iowa Fire Marshal’s office has been completed and they have received the green light to move forward with continuing to hire staff and open their doors. The partners have been thrilled with the ability to create a unique and functional layout on a single level that will house everything they need for the care, convenience and well-being of their residents. Kenny says they have incorporated a variety of features that are geared towards giving everyone living there dignity and a sense of purpose.
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The impact of memory loss has hit very close to home for both Nancy and Kenny. Nancy, who has 30 plus years of experience in long-term care and administration, says there are not very many places for families to turn to for help with the memory loss of a loved one. The couple has good friends in Council Bluffs who own two memory care facilities, so they had a good model to go by for supplying care in this high-demand field.
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Nancy points to several key components that were must-haves for Journey Senior Services.
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She adds that in the building, it was crucial to have pockets of activity areas so as residents traverse the hallways, they find something they can do. The building has been designed like an assisted living facility, where the family outfits the residents’ living space with their own furniture and the common living spaces are made to feel like home. The Snyders point out that this is also to ensure that family and friends feel at home visiting as well. Memory loss, Kenny says, is much harder on the family than on the resident, but Nancy adds it is a learning process to find new ways of interacting.
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To celebrate the culmination of over a year’s work on this journey, the partners will be hosting a ribbon cutting and open house this coming Friday, May 11. From noon to 1 p.m., the Carroll Chamber of Commerce-sponsored ribbon cutting will be performed by Rod Roberts, former Iowa House Representative and current director of the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals. Then from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the public is invited to join them to tour the building, ask questions of the partners and enjoy a meal catered by the Lidderdale Country Store. Directions to Journey Senior Services are included below.
Nancy and Kenny Snyder stopped
by the KCIM studio to talk about
their partnership in this memory-care
venture.
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Journey Senior Services
17504 Mahogany Ave., Carroll, IA
712-775-2313
Nancy Snyder Cell: 712-830-8184
Drive north on Grant Road past the Carroll Community School District High School and Middle School. Journey is located on the east side of the road.