Six Group Homes Recommended for Approval

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The executive director of a state agency has recommended that a state board approve pending applications for six new group homes for residents of the Greene Valley Development Center.
In a series of notices issued Thursday Melanie M. Hill, executive director of the Tennessee Health Services and Development agency recommended that certificates of need be awarded to Sunrise Community of Tennessee and the Open Arms Care Corp.
Five of the proposed four bed homes are being developed by Open Arms and one by Sunrise. The state board already has approved a Sunrise four bed facility on Old Shiloh Road in Greeneville despite opposition from some local residents and officials.
In the memos, Hill concluded that all six of the applications met the criteria for the state law governing the licensing of health care facilities. They will be placed on the agenda for a HSDA Board meeting scheduled for Feb. 24.
As Hill noted in her memo, the homes are needed because the Greene Valley facility is being closed under a federal court order.
The Open Arms Care Corporation homes will be located at E. Church Street and Chuckey Pike in Greeneville and Gamble Road in Georgetown Hamilton County. The Sunrise home is planned for  Quaker Knob Road in Chuckey.
Hill noted that there has been no opposition to the six applications which also have the backing of the state Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Seven additional applications to open group homes for Greene Valley residents are currently scheduled to come before the HSDA  board in March.
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