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The Chairs & Cares Spinal Cord Injury Support Group was formed in 2001. Cofounders were Wayne Geurink and Paul Wiegert. Crystal Lambrect, a NTC Student, was also involved and she suggested the name. We identified and invited other potential members and we began having monthly meetings at Aspirus Hospital in Wausau, WI for the following purpose.
Our personal experiences, reinforced by discussion with other Chairs & Cares members, got me thinking about residential accessibility. When person is severely injured one of the major limitations is the ability to live independently. A major obstacle to independence is lack of a home that facilitates the needs of the disabled individual and his or her family. As I thought about this I visualized a model, or demonstration, accessible home that could be used by everyone in the community:
I initially shared my vision with Paul Wiegert and Crystal Lambrecht. Both agreed that the idea had value. Then I described it to the rest of the Chairs & Cares group. They also agreed. I talked to local builder Chuck Ghidorzi and he suggested talking to someone at NTC. I talked to Marathon County Board member Marv Anderson who suggested talking to Joe Mielczarek at NTC. I met with Joe and he liked the idea well enough to suggest that NTC might help an effort to build it. The NTC board agreed. With that encouragement, Paul, Joe, and I took on a project to build a model home in Wausau for display purposes and for use as a teaching laboratory for NTC students and local contractors. Later, Roger Plamann, architectural design instructor at NTC was assigned to our team and he joined with enthusiasm.
Paul Wiegert and I formed a charitable nonprofit corporation named Chairs & Cares Model Accessible House, Inc. and Pat Peckham joined with us on our first board of directors. With help from Joe Mielczarek we formed an advisory board that included people with experience in all phases of disability housing and related issues. Over time we expanded our board of directors to the current group. Here's a link to a document showing our Board of Directors & Advisory Board
With input from the advisory board Roger developed a design for the house. Several modifications were made during subsequent meetings resulting in the final floor plan. This links to an interactive version of the final floor plans for the First Floor and Second Floor. Keller Inc volunteered to be our general contractor and we broke ground in September, 2006. The house was completed and our grand opening was on October 28, 2007.
This demonstration model accessible house benefits the community in multiple ways as previously outlined.
Objective:
The objective of Chairs & Cares is to build and operate a state-of-art showcase model accessible home where people with disabilities and inabilities, contractors, professionals, students and the community can gain first hand knowledge of various assistive technology alternatives and house modifications available to assist disabled individuals to live independently in their community.
The entire facility and surrounding landscape will display and demonstrate, in an actual home setting, numerous and varied state of the art accessible design and adaptable technologies including furniture, fixtures, appliances, and equipment that can be used to build or remodel a house to make independent living possible for people who might otherwise have to move to an institution..
What:
Two story, 4,600 sq ft house - three bedrooms, five bathrooms (two public), kitchen, resource library, exercise area, combination meeting room/classroom, vision equipment room, hearing equipment room, storm shelter room, garage, and reception office. An elevator and a stair lift will also be included. The house will be operated by a national disabilities resource organization member, Midstate Independent Living Consultants (MILC). (Note: This link will open a new window and take you off this website. Close or minimize the new window to return)
There are 8 Independent living centers in Wisconsin. One of them, Options for Independent Living in Green Bay (http://optionsil.com/) has been operating a house just like this since 1997. They serve over 800 individuals and organizations per year, plus hosting numerous additional political and social group meetings related to disabilities. For more information see their website, OptionsIL.com. (Note: This link will open a new window and take you off this website. Close or minimize the new window to return.)
Where:
The house is located on campus at the Northcentral Technical College on the northwest side of Wausau. It will service the Central Wisconsin area including, but not limited to, the counties of Marathon, Portage, Wood, Lincoln, Taylor, Clark, Vilas, Iron, Langlade, Menominee, Shawano, Waupaca, Oneida, Price, Ashland, Forest, Sawyer, Rusk, etc.
How:
Local builders and suppliers will build the model home. Whenever possible, students of NTC will participate. NTC Architectural Design Professor, Roger Plamann, has created architectural designs and plans. Keller Builders is the general contractor. To the extent possible, foundations and the general community population as well as donated time and materials from local businesses and trade unions have funded the home. We broke ground on August 29, 2006 and will complete construction in early August 2007. Our grand opening was on October 28, 20007. We will include in a Parade of Homes if possible.
Beneficiaries:
Local disabled and elderly people with inabilities, disabled veterans, their families, doctors, medical rehab specialists, insurance rehab specialists, builders and contractors, attorneys, and NTC students (medical program, residential design, architecture, electrical, mechanical).
Benefits:
According to Options for Independent Living, "One out of six Americans (approximately 55 million) will experience what is deemed to be a significant disability during their life. With our aging population, by 2012 more Americans will be over age 65 than under, the need for accessible living accommodations will only grow." "Persons with disabilities are the greatest growing minority in the U.S. today." A Kiplinger report about retirement indicates that in 2003 the national average cost for a nursing home was $57,700 per year. In 2003 Wisconsin was close to the national average at $56,400 per year. A September 2004 Met Life report indicates the annual average cost rose to over $60,000 in Wisconsin. Enabling one person to avoid going to a nursing home for one year is a huge individual and family savings. Multiply by many individuals and many years and the potential economic impact is huge.
Cost:
Turnkey estimate = $1,200,000 total value. Offset by estimated $400,000 - $600,000 donated labor, building materials, equipment, furniture, fixtures, and appliances (based on OptionsIL building cost).
We made a photo record of the building construction as it took place.
Check out our construction slide show for day one when Wausau Homes crew began erecting the wall panels they contributed.
LINKS ABOUT US
501c3 Acceptance Letter
Accessible Home Use
Abstract
Brochure
Board of Directors & Advisory Board
Construction Photo Gallery
Ground Breaking
Letters of Support
Make a Contribution - Pledge Form
Wisconsin Disability Data
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