By Albert Amateau
The new VillageCare Rehabilitation and Nursing Center had its official opening Thursday morning Oct. 21 at 214 W. Houston St., west of Sixth Ave. The six-story, state-of-the-art building, with accommodations for 105 inpatients, will be ready for its first residents the second week in November. The new building replaces the old Village Nursing Home at Hudson and W. 12th Sts.
VillageCare President Emma DeVito welcomed more than 100 guests to the opening of the community-based not-for-profit facility.
Guests of honor included state Senator Tom Duane, chairperson of the Senate Health Committee; and Assemblymember Deborah Glick, who recalled the long planning process that went into the creation of the first newly built nursing center for Manhattan seniors in 50 years.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn could not attend, but her aide Noah Isaacs presented a Council proclamation honoring the occasion.
Mayor Bloomberg also sent a message of congratulations to VillageCare, which serves 13,000 people a year, including seniors at the new building and people living with H.I.V./AIDS at other Downtown locations.
Four floors of the new building will accommodate short-term rehabilitation patients; one floor will have accommodations for palliative care and end-of-life patients. Rooms and staff will provide cardiac, joint-replacement and amputee rehabilitation. Each floor will have public rooms for patients and their visiting friends and families. A ground-floor gym will offer state-of-the-art physical therapy equipment.
The new building replaces a parking garage that was formerly on the site. It’s across the street from the Film Forum movie theater, and extends through the block, also fronting on Downing St.
