Benedictine Health Systems has secured land for a new nursing home.

The 72-bed facility will be on 10 acres near Coleman Street and 43rd Avenue, which is west of Plant Perfect.

"We just closed on our land," said Kevin Greff, vice president of operations with Benedictine Health Systems.

The land will give the facility space to grow, as needed. Future expansion could include assisted living facilities.

As it is, the facility will open in summer 2010 with 24 short-term stay beds and the remainder for longer stays.

Many of the rooms will be private rooms, instead of two residents sharing a room.

"We are planning mostly singles because people are needing more privacy," Greff said.

It will offer some rooms as double occupancy. They could be used by couples or for people who want a roommate, he said.

When the Benedictine Health System began exploring a new nursing home, it partnered with St. Alexius Medical Center to determine what the need is for beds in the Bismarck-Mandan area. Originally, the nursing home was planned to be built on the hospital's campus. Ultimately, it needed more space so it could expand.

"When we first looked at a joint venture, it came about because of a need for nursing home beds," said Rosanne Schmidt, St. Alexius vice president of behavioral health, transitional care unit and rehabilitation.

The partnership shifted from a joint venture where St. Alexius supplied the land. Instead, they will work together on the transition of patients from the hospital to the nursing home.

Right now, a patient's discharge can be delayed when nursing home beds are full in Bismarck-Mandan and the hospital needs to look to outlying communities for space, Schmidt said.

The benedictine facility is one of three nursing home facilities planned to open in the next two years. Medcenter One will open its 120-bed Mandan nursing home later this year.

The Good Samaritan Society started work on a 48-bed facility to open early in 2010.

Combined, there will be 170 new nursing home beds in the Bismarck-Mandan area, because the 120-bed Mandan Care Center operated by Medcenter One will be reduced to 50 beds.

This kind of swapping of nursing home beds is necessary because of a state moratorium that limits the number of beds in the state. If a facility closes or reduces its occupancy, those beds are available for a short time to be relicensed to another facility.

The Benedictine nursing home rearranged beds in the Benedictine Living Centers, by converting some double occupancy rooms to single-occupancy. The Benedictine Living Centers are in Wahpeton, Garrison, Dickinson, LaMoure and Ellendale.

When the facility is completed, the Benedictine Health Systems anticipates spending $13.5 million on the project. It will pay for this with revenue from room rates, which are set by the state; and fundraising.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)