By TRACEY DRURY
tdrury@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1609

Weinberg Campus in Getzville is planning a $2.2 million renovation project at its skilled nursing home facility.

The organization filed plans Nov. 3 with the state Health Department to modernize the Rosa Coplon Living Center.

Plans include converting the pantry area, replacing the nurse call system, the fire panel and carpets and renovation of the storage area.

The certificate-of-need application requires approval from the State Hospital Review & Planning Council within the DOH.

Administrator John Durno says the renovations represent the first significant upgrades at the site since it opened in 1993.

"This is a great opportunity for us to update the whole building with new furnishings," he says.

Rosa Coplon Living Center is a residential nursing home facility offering residents and their families enrichment activities, with housing in private, furnished bedrooms and living room units.

Nearly all of the 180 residents live in private rooms.

The renovation includes upgrading a pantry area with unit-based cooking facilities so staff, for example, can cook a hamburger for a resident on the spot rather than call down to the main kitchen.

Updates to the nurse call system will bring it up to modern standards with a Windows-based system that tracks response time and outcomes.

Other portions of the project are purely aesthetic, including adding big-screen TVs, fireplaces and decorative wall fountains.

"It will be very home-like but pretty dynamic once it gets approved and we start the process," Durno says.

In early 2009, the facility was recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services among seven of 60 community-based facilities in Erie County with its highest rating. Rosa Coplon was one of two area nonprofits to receive the five-star distinction.

It's part of the Weinberg Campus, which offers a variety of senior-living options including senior apartments, adult home and assisted living, skilled nursing and managed long-term-care plans. Together, a half-dozen related agencies have revenues topping $55.8 million.