Covington County Nursing Center has identified a site in Collins to build its new multi-million dollar facility. The nursing home is planning to build a new 60-bed facility that will cost an estimated $7 million. The challenge has been locating a piece of property in the City of Collins that is large enough to house the facility and that would be approved by the State of Mississippi.
A piece of property located on Old Highway 49 just across from the entrance to the Duckworth Subdivision has been identified as a possible location according to Collins Mayor V.O. Smith.
City officials and nursing home officials met to discuss the property being proposed.
“They will be at our next board meeting where the Aldermen will decide whether or not to rezone the location as commercial,” said Smith.
The city’s next board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19.
Smith noted that officials with the nursing home and the architect in charge of the design for the new building met and walked off the property to see if the new structure would fit on the piece of property. The building will measure about 45,000 square feet – significantly larger than the current facility.
“Originally they were hunting 10 acres of land in the city,” said Smith of the project. “They found this piece of property that’s seven and a half acres and walked it off. The architect said the building would fit on the piece of property.”
The current location is nearly 40 years old and is a 60-bed facility but with mostly semi-private rooms. According to nursing home officials, most residents today are requesting private rooms.
Regional Care is a management company that runs nursing homes in Misssissippi, including Covington County Nursing Center.
David Flippin, president of Regional Care discussed plans with the Collins Board of Aldermen in 2014 to build a new facility, but a location had never been finalized.
Regional Care is a management company that runs 23 nursing homes in Misssissippi, including Covington County Nursing Center.
Smith said Covington County Nursing Center has served the area since the 1960s and that he and the board are excited about the possibility of its new building.
He said a facility of this size and type would be an economic benefit for the area.
“Anytime you’ve got homes like that here, it brings relatives into your city, and that’s what all cities want is traffic coming into the city. If you’ve got traffic, they’re going to spend dollars,” he said.
