(Wheeler, OR) – For many years the back (south) wing of the Nehalem Valley Care Center has beenlargely unusable due to foundation settling and movement. Now, thanks to the community support provided by the 2023 Health District bond issue, the facility’s foundation has been stabilized and floors leveled, a critical step to returning the area to beneficial use.
A crew from Terra Firma Foundation Systems worked at the Care Center earlier this year to install a series of helical pile tiebacks to anchor the building to solid ground. Then workers raised the foundation – in at least two cases nearly eight inches – in order to return floors to a level condition.
A fast hardening poly foam material was then injected under the raised floors to reinforce the existing concrete slab foundation.
From beginning to end the work took less than two weeks.
With foundation stabilization and floor leveling complete the Nehalem Bay Health District, the owner of the Care Center, can move forward on the repair of dry wall and floors that were damaged as the building settled over a period of several years. “The foundation work was a critical step in getting the south wing of the Care Center back in operation,” said Health District president Marc C. Johnson. “Our intent, working with the management team at the Care Center, is to work toward increasing the number of skilled nursing beds and possibly establishment of a memory care unit within the facility. The area that has now
been stabilized will allow that effort to move forward.”
The overall plan for the Care Center calls for renovation of all the facility’s private rooms and community spaces, as well as a general equipment upgrade including up-to-date kitchen and laundry equipment.
“The Care Center was constructed in the early 1980s and structurally the building remains in good shape but badly needs a refresh and that is what we are working toward,” Johnson said.
The Nehalem Valley Care Center is a licensed 50-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, the only facility of its kind on the Oregon coast between Astoria and Newport. The facility provides 24- hour skilled nursing care to patients, as well as comprehensive rehabilitation services.
For more on the Care Center, including employment opportunities, visit: https://nehalemcarecenter.com/