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Tweaks in the design of a planned senior care building in northeastern Oregon are creating a more attractive business model for the .

The plans for the new facility at Wallowa Memorial Hospital first called for 26 鈥渞esidential care鈥� rooms for seniors and Alzheimer’s patients. But the health care district’s board of directors recently approved an additional $350,000 investment to add kitchenettes and a bit more space to 18 of those rooms. They will become 鈥渁ssisted living鈥� spaces, and qualify the facility for higher reimbursement rates from the state of Oregon.

But changes to the building plans are relatively minor.

鈥淢ost people walking through the building wouldn’t really be able to recognize any difference,鈥� said Dan Edwards, senior associate with , the architect for the project.

The distinction between the two types of rooms, according to Edwards, is that residential care units are basically bedrooms, whereas assisted-living units are more like apartments. So, for the design team, the switch meant adding a kitchenette and approximately 40 square feet to each of 18 rooms. Also, two bathrooms were added so that each unit has one.

The rest of the design, which places community spaces in the center of a 鈥渘eighborhood鈥� of resident rooms, remained largely untouched.

鈥淥ur intent was to make it feel like a big house,鈥� Edwards said.

From a business standpoint, though, the changes are noteworthy. Because of the way the state Medicaid program is structured, the facility will generate nearly 6 percent more in annual revenue through its assisted-living units.

Oregon uses a tiered payment system that provides more money for patients who need greater care. The health care district won’t need to increase staffing or obtain new licensing because of the design change, but the assisted-living spaces will provide a financial incentive for the facility to take on patients with greater needs.

Because of the switch to assisted-living units, the facility is expected to receive approximately $900,000 annually from the state program, between $30,000 and $50,000 more than the original design would have brought in.

鈥淎t the state level, budgets are really stretched,鈥� said the project’s developer, Ted Johnson. 鈥淚f there’s a dip in occupancy or a dip in state or federal reimbursement, this model will help them weather the storm much better,鈥� he said.

Johnson is president of , a Bellevue, Wash.-based firm that specializes in senior housing projects.

The revised plan did increase project costs, however. Construction expenses went up by about $200,000, and spikes in some material costs during the subsequent delay added approximately $150,000 more. , the project’s construction manager/general contractor, is still waiting for subcontractor bids to finalize the price.

Overall, the new senior care facility is expected to cost approximately $4.5 million.

Dave Harman, CEO of the Wallowa County Health Care District, said the additional up-front investment is worth it.

鈥淚t’s a better business model,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the bottom line for us is that it will expand the kind of care we’re able to provide.鈥�

Portland-based Andersen Construction expects to begin work on the 18,670-square-foot project in May, after it finishes building a $5.4 million medical office facility for the health care district.