The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), Jackson, Miss., broke ground on what officials are calling the state’s first skilled nursing facility (SNF) for children. The facility is specifically described as, “a place where Children’s of Mississippi patients with medically complex conditions can live and where families can get the training needed to provide care at home will be under construction in 2021.”
The home is designed for patients who need skilled, sometimes around-the-clock nursing care, due to the complexity of their medical conditions. It will be built in a wooded area off Eastwood Drive in Jackson, minutes from the UMMC campus.
According to a UMMC News item by Annie Oeth, the facility is being funded through bonds authorized by state legislation as well as through philanthropy. Mississippi Rep. Alyce G. Clarke was honored by name in the legislation for her efforts on such projects.
While the facility will be a skilled nursing facility, the space will have a home-like atmosphere, with areas for dinners and programs indoors, and outdoor space for recreation. Conditions of patients will vary. Some who will live at the center have been injured in accidents, while others have congenital or genetic conditions. Some may be dependent on technology such as ventilators or feeding tubes to survive and often rely on wheelchairs.
