Assisted-care facility slated to open in August

      The stigma surrounding nursing homes is well-documented. When people approaching retirement think about the possibility of living in a nursing home, their stomach turns at the thought of hospital food and cramped living quarters.
      A Northwest Las Vegas assisted-living facility, The Plaza, is out to change conventional thinking regarding retirement homes and what happens inside their walls.
      Currently under construction on the corner of Cheyenne Road and Jones Boulevard, the assisted-care facility is due to open in August.
      "This facility is unlike any other in Las Vegas," said Susan Grinsted, executive director of The Plaza. "We have a complete campus here, meaning we will have four separate but connected facilities each with a separate purpose."
      The Plaza will consist of four areas of service which make up its campus: an independent retirement living building, assisted retirement living, skilled nursing facility and a freestanding Alzheimer's disease center.
      What Grinsted means by a campus is a complete compound where residents, both independent and medically dependent, can live and play without losing touch with friends and even their spouses.
      "What usually happens is a couple moves into an independent retirement facility and then one becomes sick and has to be moved somewhere else," Grinsted said. "Here at The Plaza, they can remain in the same area and don't have to lose their support group."
      The Plaza is what Grinsted calls "private apartment" living. For those residents living in the independent retirement or assisted-living facility, they are able to choose three different floor plans in what amounts to their own small apartments.
      "They will be able to surround themselves with personal belongings that make them feel at home and comfortable with their surroundings," Grinsted said. "We even let them choose the furniture and the decorations that will be included with the apartments."
      The Plaza includes such amenities as weekly housekeeping, laundry service, restaurant-style dining, in-house chapel, pharmacy services, physicians' offices and 24-hour security.
      "This is not a medical facility where two people are to a room with two beds and two televisions," Grinsted said. "This will be an active and fun place to live. This is really a place to grow and the people who live here will enjoy themselves."
      The Plaza is owned by Schwartzberg Family Development, a privately-owned family company. It is not run by a large medical corporation, a distinction which Grinsted said makes a difference.
      "The Schwartzberg family has a real commitment to making these facilities the best that they can be," Grinsted said.
      Above all, officials at The Plaza said the staff of the new facility is what will make it different from others.
      "You can go to a new building and it looks beautiful," Grinsted said. "But if the staff isn't what it should be then it doesn't matter what the place looks like."
      This attention to personal service is something Grinsted said separates The Plaza from other retirement communities.
      "The Plaza is going to be a dynamic community where seniors can live and play and really enjoy each other," Grinsted said. "We're going to have plenty of activities and fun projects to make life here a fulfilling adventure."
      The Plaza will include full exercise and recreation facilities and will have a jam-packed schedule of events aimed at senior lifestyles.
      "We don't want people to come and just sit and watch television all day," Grinsted said. "We want the senior living at The Plaza to be active and expand their mind no matter what their age."
      Grinsted said The Plaza will begin taking reservations in early April, with the first residents moving in by the end of August.