Rayne Guest Home unveils expansion plans

Fifty-one years — to the day — after ground-breaking ceremonies marked the beginning of construction on Rayne Guest Home, announcement was formally made of an expansion program that will more than double the size of the facility when completed.
At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1966, Aubrey Leger turned the first spade of dirt in an empty field off Robert Street. Leger was joined at the site by co-founders Dr. Murray Brown, Dr. Leonel L. Kahn, Dr. John Guidry and Dr. C. Thomas Curtis, along with numerous local officials.
Flash forward 51 years and four additions to the original structure, and descendants of some of those original founding members gathered — on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 — to announce an $8.5 million expansion program.
The presentation was made in the cafeteria area of the facility with Ricky Bonin, administrator, serving as emcee / “historian” for the program.
After introducing the Guest Home’s board of directors — Karon Curtis Cook, Mary Brown White and John Guidry — Bonin launched into a history of the nursing home industry in general, and of Rayne Guest Home.
Noting that the very first nursing home was established in New Orleans in 1842 as little more than a boarding house for the ill and elderly, Bonin followed the progress of the industry through the 1950s, when “the first ‘modern’ facilities began to open.”
Planning for Rayne Guest Home began in 1966 by the aforementioned five founders, he said.
“The first facility had 54 beds and cost $161,054 to build,” Bonin said.
Construction began in mid-January 1966 and the first resident — Leo Clement — was admitted on Sept. 1 of that same year, according to Bonin. To date, 2,075 residents have been admitted.
Leroy Richard was the first administrator at Rayne Guest Home. Bonin is only the third.
Kevin Broussard, associate with Ashe, Broussard and Weinzettle, the architectural firm that designed the addition, described his work in the design as “a labor of love,” adding that he has worked closely with the directors on the project.
In outlining the project, Broussard noted that 46,430 square feet of “new construction” will be added to the facility with 19,277 of existing building to undergo extensive renovation.
“The front entrance ... to Robert Street will be demolished,” Broussard said. “That area represents the earliest years of the facility.”
He said the Guest Home, when completed, will offer 40 private rooms and 80 beds in semi-private rooms.
“This represents a huge increase in the number of private rooms available here,” he added.
There also will be 1,512 square feet of additional dining area and more than 3,000 square feet of new living room space, a movie theater, additional space for activities and a new physical therapy area.
“Social space, areas for interaction and activities are much more important parts of the nursing home design that they used to be in Louisiana,” he said.
One thing Broussard said he was particularly surprised by with regard to Rayne Guest Home was the use of the facility’s chapel.
“Many individuals from the community use the chapel when Mass is celebrated here,” he said. “That’s a testament to the type of relationship Rayne Guest Home has with the neighborhood and the community as a whole.”
He explained that the new chapel will be partitioned to retain its intimacy but will seat up to 100 when opened up.
Parking, long an issue at Rayne Guest Home, also will be addressed with the expansion, according to the architect.
“Parking right now is a challenge with the construction, and it will remain so throughout the construction,” he warned.
However, when complete, the facility will have about 64 percent more parking area than before, Broussard said.
Obviously enthusiastic about the prospect of seeing the upgrade of Rayne Guest Home into a state-of-the-art facility, Bonin closed the program.
“There have been times when there’s been a family sitting across from my desk and they ask, ‘Do you mean we would pay the same here as we would at that new facility right down the road?’ — because, remember, we don’t set our prices, the state does — and they take off,” he said. “Not any more.”
Officials with Ratcliff Construction, the general contractor, estimate about 18 months until construction is complete.
“We’re looking at opening around April of 2018,” Bonin said.