​Sunporch of Dodge City and Southwind at Spearville residents, families, and staff are welcoming Tosha Fields as their new leader.  Fields, who has been a dedicated nurse, leader, and educator with over 38 years of service in healthcare, management, and postsecondary education is excited for this new opportunity.
 
Sunporch of Dodge City and Southwind at Spearville are both stand alone, non-profit providers of skilled nursing, long-term care, as well as some senior services.  Sunporch of Dodge City offers independent housing while Southwind at Spearville offers Assisted Living services.  They partner, however, by sharing some resources and staff, including the Administrator.
 
Previously Fields had served as the Director of Nursing at Sunporch of Dodge City.  Fields shared, “I am born and raised in southwest Kansas. I have 3 kids and 6 beautiful grand kids.  I like to spend time with them, remodel houses, and cook.  I am excited to come back to Sunporch, as the Administrator this time, and to help get Southwind open and filled with laughter.”
 
Fields began her new role on April 19th.  An official meet and greet will be scheduled in the near future.  To introduce yourself or learn more about our services, call Sunporch of Dodge City at (620) 227-7512 or Southwind at Spearville at (620) 385-2161.

Southwind at Spearville, a new option for long term care and assisted living services in a small home setting is now hiring staff in preparation for their grand opening.  Megan Wyant, Director of Nursing, stated, “We are currently seeking to hire multiple team members who are interested in being a part of our innovative care team. We are redefining the traditional care model and therefore the traditional healthcare workplace.”

Current openings include RN’s, LPN’s, C.N.A.’s and C.M.A’s.  The culture of Southwind at Spearville is a family style approach with the elder at the center of all that is done.  Those staff working closest to the elder are empowered to make decisions and be flexible to meet their needs.  This environment also creates a culture of team rather than of top-down management.  Wyant continued, “Working at Southwind at Spearville looks very different than a traditional nursing home.  We are getting back to the basics of providing care to seniors, and that is refreshing.”

During a time when burnout and a shortage of staff are the norm throughout the industry, Southwind at Spearville is striving to be different.  “We are looking for a group of people who have a passion for caring for others to create a supportive team.”
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If you are interested in applying for any of the open positions in the nursing department, please contact Megan Wyant, Director of Nursing, at (620) 385-2161 or by email at Megan@southwindatspearville.com

Southwind at Spearville is hosting an Open House and Ribbon Cutting on Saturday, February 12th from 10am-2pm.  The community is invited to tour the beautiful small homes which will provide long term care services as well as assisted living apartments.  Information will also be available about the Graceful Living care approach and services which creates a culture focused on elders’ lives being purposeful rather than passive, and staff being empowered by people rather than process.  Southwind at Spearville is located at 102 Pine Street in Spearville.  For more information call (620) 385-2161 or go to www.southwindatspearville.com
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Concrete has been poured!

​On Tuesday, March 16th, members of the Sunrise Board of Directors and Simpson Construction held a groundbreaking ceremony to commence the construction of a new skilled nursing and assisted living facility which will be located at 102 Pine Street in Spearville. 
 
“This groundbreaking is a culmination of efforts by many people and is a testament to how a community can come together to achieve great success in caring for and honoring our elderly,” remarked Board of Directors Chair Ron Temaat. “The design of Sunrise of Spearville reflects a movement for service to elders with an individualized care and small home approach.  It is something that the community will be proud of!”
 
Unlike any other long term care provider in the area, the new building will consist of a small home providing individualized care to 14 elders.  Each elder will have a private room and private bath which opens to the homelike floor plan including kitchen, dining, and living room.  The culture of a small home invites a family approach to care rather than institutionalized processes.  The assisted living will offer 12 apartments with studio, 1 and 2 bedroom options.  Sunrise is also expecting to add an additional 25 new jobs.
 
Landmark Architects and Simpson Construction have been selected to build the new campus.  Grace Team currently is the development and management company and will continue in that role when the new building opens.  The new community is slated to open early 2022.  

​“The community has been extremely supportive of the project,” shared Ron Temaat Chairman of the Sunrise Board of Directors.  “We needed to raise $1,500,000 and we are within $100,000 of that goal.”  A combination of generous support from the Tom Feist Foundation as well as many personal donors has made the fund-raising campaign a success.  Temaat continued, “We just need to finish this last leg to reach our fundraising goal, and we will quickly be ready to begin groundbreaking.”
 
 
Temaat, along with Sandy Hines, Lorie Stein, Kelly Tasset, Dr. Tim Cornitius, and Theresa Stegman have devoted extensive time and effort to get to this stage of planning.  Working alongside Landmark Architects and local native, Josh Vogel of Simpson Construction, the project has evolved into a unique opportunity for seniors to receive care right here in Spearville.  The design includes 12 assisted living apartments as well as long term care provided to 14 seniors in a small home design.  Temaat shared that the design is different than a traditional nursing home as will the approach to care. 
 
A donor recognition board is planned to forever honor financial supporters.  Eight levels of giving have been established ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.  If you are interested in supporting the project, please contact Ron or any of the board members.  “We are anxious to meet our fundraising goal so we can get shovels in the ground.  The support we have seen and felt has been tremendous and we are excited to make this happen.”  Temaat can be reached at 620-385-0801 for more information.
 
 
 
 

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Spearville Senior Living Inc. recently received the good news it had been eagerly awaiting, said Ron Temaat, SSL Board of Directors chairman.
United States Department of Agriculture-Rural Development has approved SSL’s application and awarded $4 million in funding for the local senior-living project. The campus will be named Sunrise at Spearville. “This is a loan at a very favorable interest rate,” Temaat said. “This project could not happen without USDA funding. We are very grateful.”

But the good news doesn’t stop there, Temaat noted. The leader of the construction team, Josh Vogel, grew up in Wright and attended middle school and high school in Spearville. He is director of preconstruction at Simpson Construction Services, Wichita.  “The board of directors is working with Josh on a timeline that includes breaking ground on the project late this year with completion about a year later,” Temaat said. “Occupancy will start in January 2022.”  Simpson was one of several companies interviewed for this project. “Their experience and professionalism were impressive; the Simpson team is a great fit for SSL,” Temaat commented.  Vogel expressed “my sincere interest in this senior-living project during the interview. It is not often you get the opportunity to come back home and help with a project such as this. It is so important to the community.”

SSL is the 501-c3 non-profit organization that will operate Sunrise at Spearville.
The $5.1 million project will result in 14 private rooms in the skilled-nursing building, which is an expansion from 12 rooms. The assisted-living apartment complex will accommodate 12 residents.

Temaat acknowledged there has been a delay in construction. This is because “USDA significantly changed its processes at about the same time we submitted our initial loan application late in 2018. We continued to work with Rural Development and the application was approved.  “COVID-19 also factored into the delays in breaking ground,” he added.
SSL has hired the Topeka-based GraceTeam to help operate Sunrise at Spearville. “Their experience will be a great asset as we begin construction and look to the day-to-day operation,” Temaat said. “We are fortunate to have John Grace and his team involved in this project.  “They are vital to our success during financing, design and construction. In addition, they will help train staff and manage daily operations.”  GraceTeam operates SunPorch of Dodge City and other locations in Kansas.
           
 Fundraising campaign
With the approval from Rural Development, “we will resume our $520,000 fundraising campaign,” Temaat said. “To date, we have sold approximately half the tax credits and plan to have the rest sold by the end of this year.”    Last summer, SSL received a $250,000 tax-credit award from the Kansas Department of Commerce. This means a donor receives a tax credit equal to 70 percent of the gift. In some cases, a federal tax deduction also applies.  For example, if an individual or business gives $10,000, the Kansas tax credit comes to $7,000 and the federal tax deduction could be $3,000.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity,” Temaat said. “The tax credits supplement local support by allowing a significant part of a donation to offset tax liability.”  The Tom Feist Foundation donated one million dollars to the project.