PUBLISHED: July 23, 2007
SECTION: Business
PAGE: B5

Care center has
become family affair
By Gary T. Pakulski
Blade Business Writer

SWANTON -World War II veteran Cecil Mitchell never missed breakfast at Swanton Health Care & Retirement Center. Each morning, before picking up his knife and fork, the 86-year-old donned a crisply pressed suit and - after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001- a red, white, and blue tie.

But he wasn't a patient.

"He was our goodwill ambassador," his daughter, Lisa Mitchell, the nursing home's chief executive, recalled with a loving chuckle.

Mr. Mitchell, until his death in 2004, continued to make daily visits to the facility he started and sold to his children nine years later.

The nursing home, on South Munson Road in the Fulton County community of Swanton, has been continuously operated by the Mitchell family since it opened in 1985.

The American Health Care Association is unsure of how many nursing homes nationally are family-owned, but said that 47 percent are independently owned, single-location operations.

That number has stayed steady for the last four years, said spokesman Susan Feeney.

Ms. Mitchell, 46, owns and operates the nursing home with her brother, Scott Mitchell, 49.

Three of his children work there. Tiffany is the beautician; Scottie is maintenance assistant, and Jessica works in medical records.

The family's close involvement helps promote a "culture of caring," said Stacey Rish, executive chef.

With 68 skilled nursing beds and a 16-bed assisted living unit, the facility serves a mix of permanent residents and short-term patients undergoing physical therapy while recovering from surgery or accidents.

The latter category, partly as a result of Medicare policies steering beneficiaries away from hospital-based inpatient therapy programs, is growing and accounts for 30 to 40 percent of patients today, Ms. Mitchell said.

Self-pay patients in semi-private rooms pay $195 a day. But only 22 percent of patients are self-pay. Most of the remainder are covered by Medicaid, which reimburses the facility at a much lower rate, the chief executive said.

Major challenges include recruitment of compassionate, trained personnel and dealing with government reimbursement formulas that haven't kept up with inflation, Ms. Mitchell added.

The facility employs 110 people.

Plans include renovation of the 22-year-old facility and addition of an independent-living unit.

Officials also are looking at ways to boost revenues by selling catering services and possibly offering a meal-delivery program, said Scott Mitchell. His father operated six nursing homes in northwest Ohio and elsewhere in the state during his long career.

But before opening the first home in 1960, he had many other businesses, including a fudge shop, roller rink, building supply house, diaper service, and a fleet of ice cream pushcarts.

Before steering an in-law to Swanton Health Care, Marianne Hassen of Sylvania Township visited the facility many times in the course of her work for a physical therapy practice that provides services there.

"It was a really good fit," Ms. Hassen said.

"They do a really good job of personalizing care." Small Busines Profile

Company: Swanton Health Care & Retirement Center

Headquarters: Swanton

Founded: 1985

2007 revenues: $5.4 million

Employees: 110

Top executive: Scott Mitchell, Lisa Mitchell, owners

Type of business: nursing home, assisted living care

Contact Gary T. Pakulski at:

gpakulski@theblade.com

or 419-724-6082.

Small Business Profile is a weekly feature on local companies. To be considered, send information about your company to Small Business Profiles, Business News, The Blade, P.O. Box 921, Toledo, Ohio 43697-0921.

Audrey Layman always wanted to write a book, but as an elementary school teacher she was usually too pressed for time.

Then two months ago, she was broached with an offer to fulfill the dream. Now 86 years old and long retired, Layman decided the time was right.

The result is A Lesson From A Worm, a cautionary children's tale of a boy whose daydream during school teaches him a valuable lesson about paying attention. The staff at Layman's residence, Swanton Health Care and Retirement Center, is so pleased with the outcome it's shopping for a publisher.

Terry Shear, an enrichment assistant at the facility who co-wrote the book with Layman, said she's not surprised at Layman's accomplishment.

"She just has so much life. When you watch the teacher come out in her, it just brings tears to your eyes," Shear said.

A Toledo native, Layman spent much of her long teaching career at Swanton Township School and Park Elementary School. Her own favorite lessons were in math and geology. But her pet project for her students was growing hydroponic tomatoes on the classroom windowsills. The process fascinated her.

"Our windows were always full of things growing in water," Layman said. When Shear suggested they co-author a children's book, Layman knew she wanted to incorporate growing the tomatoes into the story.

The book's title is a deliberate attempt to catch children's eyes.

"People look at that and say, 'Now, what in the world would that be?,'" Layman said. "They'll want to read it."

The book project was enhanced with colorful illustrations by Joe Silva, a student aide in Monica Anderson's kindergarten class at Evergreen Elementary School. His artistry was admired by a student's parent who works at the retirement center.

"They said it was a dream of hers to do a book. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me," Silva said. The Archbold resident is a Northwest State Community College student majoring in human services, but creates artwork as a sideline. He has also completed a mural for the Family Christian Center in Defiance.

The kindergarten class visited Layman on May 12 to present her with the finished product and listen to her first reading. They then regaled Layman and other residents with their own written stories.

"I just felt there was a need," Layman said of her book. "I was excited looking at it.

Shear said Layman is fully involved in events at the center. "She's very outgoing, and an inspiration to everyone," she said.

Community relations manager Liz Anderson said Layman is a beloved member of the facility.

"She's someone who is very involved. She's very positive, and she smiles easily," Anderson said.

Layman has considered co-authoring another children's book if the inspiration strikes her. She said the desire to educate still burns brightly inside of her.

"There's a teacher in there," she said.

TOLEDO FREE PRESS SERIES: BRAIN GAIN
Nursing home CEO continues family business
By Brandi Barhite
Special Sections Editor
bbarhite@toledofreepress.com

Lisa Mitchell liked to hang around with the older crowd when she was growing up.

“I remember every single weekend going to the nursing home with my dad and always asking my friends to come, but they never wanted to, Mitchell said.

“Most of my friends were 90 years old,” she said, laughing.

Mitchell's early exposure to the family business influenced her decision to stay in the Toledo area, eventually becoming president and CEO of Swanton Health Care & Retirement Center in 1994.

“I grew up wanting to do that,” said 46-year-old Mitchell. “Both my brother and I worked at my father's first facility that he owned. I was a kid growing up in the facility — I am not sure I ever drew a paycheck from my father's first nursing home.”

In 1964, her father, Cecil Mitchell, established his first nursing care residence, Eastview Nursing Home in Oregon. He continued the care started in that first facility for four decades by owning and managing several facilities in Northwest Ohio. After attempting retirement, he built Swanton Health Care & Retirement Center in 1985.

“My father was a true entrepreneur,” Mitchell said. “He had a high school education and he was incredibly successful in a variety of businesses.”

Mitchell graduated from Rogers High School in 1979 and attended UT, although she never graduated because working in the family business became critical to her. She formally started working for Swanton Health Care & Retirement in 1987.

“I decided to stay in the area for my family and the family business,” Mitchell said. “You can't easily pick this business up and transfer it to another location. It was important to continue with what my father started.”

Swanton Health Care & Retirement Center is one of the last family owned and independently owned skilled nursing facilities in Northwest Ohio, according to Mitchell. Projected revenue for 2008 is $5.4 million.

When the assisted living was first built in 1989, it was the second in Fulton County to offer that service at that time. In 1994, the assisted living was converted to nursing facility beds and a new assisted living, and additional nursing facility beds were built. In 1996, the center became Medicare-certified, making it a skilled nursing facility.

Mitchell said people appreciate working with local owners. Her brother, Scott Mitchell, is an owner, as well as facilities director.

“We are on site, six, seven days a week,” she said. “We are always accessible by phone; we know our residents.”

Becky Ziviski, chief financial officer for Swanton Health Care & Retirement, has worked for the Mitchells for five years.

“Lisa has a bigger heart than anyone I know,” said Ziviski, in a statement. “She listens intently to staff concerns and doesn't just come up with a solution, she utilizes as many resources as she can to come up with the best possible solution.

“She is open-minded, kind, but stern and a very hard worker. She sometimes works at our facility seven days per week. I'm sure she always works seven days per week because if she isn't physically in our facility, she is thinking about it and how to improve it and resolve issues,” Ziviski said.

Mitchell's black lab, Judge, is also popular among staff and residents.

“He is a gentle giant,” Mitchell said. “He has been coming to work with me for four years old. The residents love him.”

Mitchell and her longtime boyfriend, Phil Barbosa, live in Toledo. Their home is an old bank building just outside of Downtown, which they renovated. Mitchell is proud of her commitment to the region.

“We have tried to invest personally and professionally in Northwest Ohio,” she said.