Cowansville Personal Care Home Achieves Licensure
Administrator Dolores Gallyot, Executive Director Ariel Venesky and some employees of the refurbished St. Francis Care Estate in Cowansville await new residents.
by Jonathan Weaver
After two years of remodeling, a Cowansville personal care home has been officially accredited for patient care.
St. Francis Care Estate was officially licensed September 18 and is ready to welcome in new residents.
On the grounds of the former Russell House Estate, Administrator Dolores Gallyot “started from scratch” when she and her husband, Gerald, purchased the property.
“And still I’m not done yet,” Dolores said.
With plenty of flowers along the windows and different colored bedspreads in the 10 rooms, Gallyot said it took nearly two years to prepare for the opening.
“Somebody showed this place to us, and I really love it because it’s so nice and quiet after 26 years of running around, sitting in traffic,” Dolores said.
Dolores, like her husband, formerly was a New York City nurse before they saw the building that had been vacant for about five years.
“I want to try another field – I’ve been an (Operating Room) nurse, an (Emergency Room) nurse, an acute nurse, a dialysis nurse, everything,” Dolores said.
Son, Shane, also is looking into becoming a nurse but he is undecided on what school he wants to attend.
Executive Director Ariel Venesky, a Karns City grad and formerly a Sugarcreek Ambulance transporter, praised Dolores for all the work she put into the building and making it look like a place residents can call home.
“We try to keep it an intimate setting – lots of fireplaces everywhere,” Venesky said. “We tried to make it very homey because people are essentially leaving their homes to make a decision to come here full-term.
“(The setting) shows a lot of character. It wasn’t a bad facility before, but it was very run-down. They definitely breathed life back into it.”
The Gallyots are also moving close-by, and Venesky lives in Cowansville. Some of the seven staff members also live in the facility to ensure resident comfort and patient care.
The licensing allows for 17 residents to live in the facility, where meals are freshly-cooked.
Of the Catholic Faith, the Gallyots renamed the estate after Patron Saint of Animals and Nature St. Francis of Assisi. It was also in 2013 that Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope.
Local News | jweaver October 28, 2015
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