BEMIDJI — One of them has worked in health care for more than four decades, one is known for her warm personality that makes residents feel welcome, another hangs thousands of Christmas lights around the facility each holiday season.

Each of these Neilson Place employees, along with hundreds of other staff, volunteers and residents the nursing home has cared for over the years, were honored as the long-term care facility celebrated its 20th anniversary with a program on Tuesday.

Located on Sanford Health’s Woods Edge senior living campus, the building consists of three long-term care units and one rehabilitation therapy unit.

During the program, Sandy Benson, the facility’s former director who played a key role in opening the facility two decades ago, shared some key milestones in her work to realize Neilson Place’s vision.

In the 1990s, Benson was part of the leadership team at the North Country Nursing and Rehab Center downtown on Bemidji Avenue.

“In the beginning, it was a small group that embarked on the adventure,” she said. “We had a slogan … we were making timeless connections, and that was a big part of what we were trying to do.”

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

The team may not have realized it at the time, but their commitment would lead to the center eventually becoming Sanford Health’s Neilson Place. All they knew then was that change was afoot at the center.

“Something was changing on the acute care side of our operation, and they had the opportunity to put together a new unit that would help people who were undergoing surgical procedures, had chronic illnesses, and anyone who needed the care of rehab services,” Benson said. “This change in the delivery of rehab services was the perfect time for us as a staff to decide together, ‘Where are we going now? What are we going to be?'”

The first step in determining the direction of the center was to build a team of experts who could help understand the wants and needs of the residents.

After a group that included physicians, a geriatrician, a nutritionist and a social worker gained valuable insight into long-term care, Benson and the leadership team felt ready to take the next step and develop a facility that would provide more amenities and services to the people who call it home.

“Gone are the days of living in a care home where you had a double room, shared a bathroom and had a large communal dining room,” said Benson. “Life was relatively routine and spontaneity was rare. Access to green spaces was limited. Pets were not always welcome and interaction with children was not part of everyday life.”

After extensive brainstorming and behind-the-scenes work, the decision was made in the early 2000s to build a new building next to the North Country Regional Hospital at 1000 Anne Street.

The move also brought a new name for the facility. The building, constructed with support from the George W. Neilson Foundation, is named after Katharine Neilson Cram, who served as the foundation’s executive director until her death in 2000.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

After Neilson Place was completed in August 2004, everything was moved from the downtown building to the new facility in just two days. To accomplish this feat, 39 residents and all their belongings had to be transported across the city every day.

Facility Operations Manager Chuck Jensen fondly remembers the move.

“It seems like only a few weeks ago that we brought residents from the downtown building here to tour it and pick out their rooms,” he said. “Those residents were able to pick their rooms and their new home.”

Jensen pointed out that the new building, which is about 20,000 square feet larger than the downtown facility, will offer residents more space and privacy with its 78 single rooms.

“(The downtown building) was definitely a product of the ’60s and that era and what nursing homes were then,” he said. “It had 46 rooms for residents and 32 of those rooms were doubles, meaning there were two beds, two people in each of those rooms, and those rooms were about 250 square feet. That’s not big.”

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

After the dust of the move settled, staff worked to make residents feel at home in their new space, with an emphasis on creating a sense of community within the facility.

“Life at 1000 Anne Street slowly took on its own rhythm,” she said. “There were organizational meeting spaces, there were entertainment, picnics, dinners for residents and families, many different ways the community could come back and be with us.”

Now that Neilson Place is entering its third decade, Benson expressed her gratitude to those who helped make the vision a reality and the staff who still dedicate their time to the home’s residents.

“I’m not sure those of us who started could have believed that 20 years later we would still be on this journey. Here we are, but we want to thank all of you, the leaders and heroes who have joined us on this journey and adventure,” she concluded. “Not only did we make it, you are still doing it today.”

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

Madelyn Haasken is a multimedia editor at the Bemidji Pioneer. She graduated from Bemidji State University in 2020 with a degree in mass communications, with minors in writing and design. In her free time, she enjoys watching hockey, doing crossword puzzles, and being outdoors.