Boundary Waters Care Center sits in Ely, Minnesota, and serves older adults and their families by providing both long-term care and short-term rehabilitation, and you'll find that the place feels like a tight-knit community with between 51 and 200 employees on staff, managed by Health Dimensions Group, who take care to make sure care stays focused on each person's dignity and independence, and residents get help right when they need it. The center is a nonprofit organization, classified as a 503(c)(3), and it takes pride in being a place where people can recover from surgeries, handle serious medical needs, or just settle in for skilled nursing care, as they offer speech, occupational, and physical therapies along with IV therapy, wound care, and both inpatient and outpatient therapy, so folks can come in after a hospital stay or stay longer if they need more support with daily living. Staff work with people who need complex care, post-acute care, post-operative care, or even hospice and palliative care, but they work to help everyone live as independently as possible, and part of that comes from programs that center on social, emotional, and physical well-being-including pet therapy and arts and culture groups, activities for everything from fishing, canoeing, and ice fishing outside, to visiting art galleries and theater indoors, and even celebrating local Native American culture.
There's a focus on healing in a supportive environment with a professional team ready to keep residents as comfortable and active as possible, and they've also got therapy equipment available and a range of health and wellness resources, including an onsite barber and beauty salon, housekeeping, laundry, and scheduled transportation to help make daily life easier. Their approach is guided by values like hospitality, stewardship, integrity, respect, and humor, which shows through in efforts like their "Caring Above and Beyond" program that tries to make sure residents feel appreciated and heard, and all care is matched to the person's own needs and wishes. Boundary Waters Care Center tries to help people reach their goal of going back home when possible, or to find pride and personal satisfaction if they stay longer term, and that approach to care has earned them the Bronze Commitment to Quality Award from The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, as well as recognition from Assisted Living Magazine as Best in Skilled Nursing. The center hosts and supports community events, festivals, and activities, so there's always something going on, and there are amenities for family gatherings, weddings, and overnight guests with lodging including cabins and resorts nearby. Overall, residents get personalized care from a team that knows how to support people dealing with injury, surgery recovery, chronic illness, and everything in between, including offering palliative care and support for those near the end of life.
