Wilson Homecare, a Honolulu-based provider of home health services, is making its first foray into senior living with a new $6 million senior residence opening next month in Kailua.
The company started development of Wilson Senior Living Kailua in 2007, according to Shelley Wilson, owner and president. The center has 19 furnished rooms. Wilson said she expects the Kailua home to be licensed as an adult residential care home next month by the Office of Health Care Assurance.
Wilson started her home health service company 15 years ago and now has 450 employees. She said she already has more than 100 potential residents interested in filling about 20 slots at the Kailua home.
Residents are expected to move in by the end of September and will be on month-to-month contracts.
"The primary reason we decided to build this property is because we continue to get requests from our clients for alternative resources," Wilson said. "Home care is a wonderful service for folks, but if you need 24-hour care, it can be quite expensive."
As Hawaii’s population ages and baby boomers begin to retire, demand for all types of health services have rapidly increased.
For instance, Beckwith Hillside Adult Day Care, which opened in 2010 in Manoa, gets at least two or three calls a week requesting full-time care, even though it provides respite care only during the day, according to Beverley Young, a registered nurse and Beckwith’s CEO.
"Although day care is a great alternative, we still get people begging us to take their parents 24 hours a day," she said. "I’ve turned many people away."
Wilson Senior Living will provide meals, snacks, activities, laundry, housekeeping and basic care services such as medication management and 24-hour staff starting at $9,495 a month for a single person in a private room. Costs increase to $10,495 a month for a single person needing expanded care, including help with bathing, dressing, using the toilet and grooming. There are separate charges for skilled nursing services such as tube feeding, injections or wound care. 
For double occupancy prices start at $13,990 for basic services and go up to $15,990 for expanded care.
"This is a great resource for folks who need the whole entire spectrum of servicing, home care, personal care, in addition to having someone around to supervise, making sure they’re eating a healthy meal and having some social interaction with other folks," Wilson said.
The large home, with 11,000 square feet of common living space, also will offer activities to keep seniors stimulated, including gardening, music, reading, crafts, dance lessons, poker, movies and field trips, she added.
Wilson is looking at sites in town to build more senior living residences and is also developing her first adult day care center downtown with GC Pacific Inc., which is converting the Queen Emma office building into senior residential condominiums.
"As soon as we get this opened up, we’ll be ready to look at starting another project," Wilson said. "With the amount of need we have in the community, we’ll gradually add them as the market demands."
