Dolphin Pointe is Diving into Aquatics

Dolphin Pointe Health Care located in Jacksonville, Florida decided that they didn’t want to build a typical one story “brick and stick” nursing home behind a shopping center. They wanted to build something unique, so unique is what they made. They chose to build the facility in a special location that exposes one of the best views of the river for residents. Greg and Denise Nelson of Nelson Holdings, Sean Nelson, Executive Director and Partner, Geoff Fraser and Jeff Cleveland of Clear Choice Health Care, decided rather than 120 beds in the facility, they wanted to offer suites to add to the ambiance they were providing. Private rooms and single occupancy is where the market is heading and their goal, at Dolphin Pointe, is to stay current with the trends. So, after countless meetings focusing on the design aspect of the facility, they came up with something unique in that it will be the area’s only single occupancy and private rooms themed around the Savannah lifestyle. It stands out because it does not have the Mediterranean look that is common throughout Florida.

Greg Nelson, a graduate of Jacksonville University, revisited campus as a trustee and realized that there was vacant land available. This is when the idea emerged and the Dolphin Pointe property was eventually purchased in August 2014. As part of the design, they added a large 5,500 square-foot therapy center that will be used physical, occupational and speech therapy and will showcase two HydroWorx 500 Series pools. These enhancements will attract not only the senior living population but also the Jacksonville University athletes. The strong relationship that was built with the University will allow Dolphin Pointe to share their high-tech resources after hours to work with athletes from the University that require aquatic therapy. The facility looks forward to being a valued partner with the University and creating a mutually beneficial relationship.

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By proximity, Dolphin Pointe will be the closest nursing home to the University – less than a football field away – for graduating healthcare professionals. This will allow students to gain hands-on experience in a real healthcare setting. In addition, there will be a 100,000 square-foot, three story medical office that will have an urgent care student clinic.

Dr. Chris Sapienza, a faculty member of Jacksonville University will be working with Dolphin Pointe and states:

“I’m the Dean of Healthcare Sciences which has a very large school of nursing as well as many of the applied health sciences, so areas like speech pathology, occupational therapy, movement sciences and mental health counseling. So, what Greg is developing is a community that will encompass many types of patients that our students will encounter in their careers.”

The University already has a niche in the healthcare field and this partnership will help them expand their offerings. The University eventually wants to have over 500 lives being cared for on this campus.

Dolphin Pointe is investing in not one but two HydroWorx products. There is a medical benefit to having two products by running them at two different temperatures which will allow for increased variety of treatment options. For example, a patient with arthritis would use the warmer pool, and a patient with a respiratory condition like COPD may need the temperature slightly cooler. Clear Choice also offers HydroWorx underwater treadmills in many of their other facilities and clearly sees the value in this modality.

Geoff states, “With the athletes, aquatics is going to be a new thing. Currently, we have only treated rehab patients and post-acute so the next step is very exciting to see how athletes benefit from the water, as well. Rehabbing in a fashionable, tech-savvy product is important for us because that is our vision for Dolphin Pointe. Staying up with the trends and offering creative services such as HydroWorx products will match perfectly with the Savannah themed Dolphin Pointe facility which is planned to open by early 2018.”

Learn about aquatic therapy’s new role in emerging senior living trends here.