Construction begins on McHenry 'luxury' skilled nursing facility

Ignite Medical Resorts and Leo Brown Group have broken ground on a planned skilled nursing facility for McHenry.

Transformative Health of McHenry will be located on the corner of Bull Valley and Ridgeview roads, adjacent to the Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital campus. The skilled nursing facility will offer services to patients recovering from strokes, orthopedic surgeries, cardiac incidents and other medical procedures.

The project will create more than 200 temporary construction jobs and about 120 health care and facility worker positions, according to a news release from Ignite CEO and co-founder Tim Fields.

“We are excited to break ground on this state-of-the-art project and thank Mayor Wayne Jett, [Economic Development Director] Doug Martin and their teams for the incredible support,” Fields said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing unique and innovative health care services to the city of McHenry and the surrounding communities.”

Ignite aims to offer rapid rehabilitation in a “luxurious” setting, Fields said. Amenities at the facility include private suites; the on-site “LuxeCafe” serving Starbucks; Fireside Grille, a full-service restaurant; a spa; a pharmacy and a chapel.

The facility will employ physical, occupational and speech therapists and offer technology such as live vital monitoring, an on-site lab analyzer and hospitality tablets, Fields said.

Transformative Health will operate out of a 55,000-square-foot, one-story building and offer 60 private rooms for short-term care patients and 24 shared rooms.

The average client for a short-term stay would be at the center anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. The center will accept insurance and Medicare, Fields has said.

Construction is expected to be complete in the fall of 2020.

Indiana-based Leo Brown Group, LLC is a privately held company that focuses on development, ownership and operations of senior living properties. The group has developed more than 15 senior living communities totally more than 2,000 units in the Midwest area, plus several post-acute and specialty hospital projects, according to the news release.

Ignite operates similar facilities in Niles and Kansas City, Missouri, with more planned for South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Independence, Missouri.