ORONO, Maine — The trip up a small, muddy hill in front of the Treats Falls House was easy for most, but not all, of those who gathered recently for an expansion groundbreaking at the facility for people with intellectual or medical disabilities.
For residents Michael Atherton and Nye Ivers, who each use a wheelchair, the trip was an accomplishment.
“I wish everybody knew how hard the people we work with everyday to succeed and do things we take for granted,” Independence Advocates of Maine Executive Director Catherine Robertson said, referring to walking up the hill. “Every day, I am amazed.”
Treats Falls House, a 17-bed intermediate care facility for people with intellectual, medical and/or behavioral needs tucked between the Penobscot River and Park Street, is getting a facelift and more space thanks to a federal loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Facilities program.
The residential home on Hillside Road, run by Independence Advocates of Maine, was built in 1979 and will use the $4,985,000 USDA loan to renovate the aging 9,800-square-foot facility and construct two 3,000-square-foot additions.
“This is totally to make the home we have better,” Robertson said, adding that there are only 16 residents because of space limitations.
The original facility was designed with high ceilings and bright colors that do not work well with some patients, such as those with severe autism, the director said.
In addition, “there are not enough electrical outlets to plug in all the medical equipment,” she said. “They’re living longer, and their needs are more complex than ever before.”
The expansion will allow Treats Falls House to continue its mission of enriching the lives of people with disabilities by promoting independence, health, community, employment and natural resources, according to USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel.
“It’s a pleasure to be a partner … [with] a unique community nonprofit with such an important mission,” Manuel said.
USDA Rural Development has invested about $39 million in health care facilities in rural Maine since 2009, she said.
Down East Community Hospital was awarded a $4 million federal loan to help expand and improve its emergency department as part of the same 2015 USDA funding package, and Downeast Horizons, located in Ellsworth, got a $1 million loan to build a new, 5,120-square-foot facility for day programs for adults and children with developmental disabilities.
Treats Falls House has three living units with private and semi-private bedrooms, and staff who provide support with daily living skills, medical care, social services, leisure and recreation, behavioral concerns and community inclusion based on an individual’s needs, their website states.
Orono Town Manager Sophie Wilson, Board President Brandie Dewitt and accountant Ken Bustard also spoke at the groundbreaking. Design Group Collaboration of Ellsworth has spent several years creating a building best suited for the residents, Bustard said, and Devoe Construction of Eagle Lake is doing the construction work.
“It’s amazing,” Robertson said of the facility where she has been executive director for nearly 17 years. “It’s our special place.”