Photo by Linda Comins The three new Altenheim cottages are located just across the lawn from the Altenheim Retirement Home along National Road in Wheeling. The exterior finish of the independent-living cottages complements the stately limestone exterior of the main building. Each cottage has its own patio and walkway.

A “continuum of care” for senior living can be found within a several-block area of Wheeling. A number of independent living options are located along National Road in Wheeling ranging from independent living in community settings such as Elmhurst and Altenheim, to individual apartments in high-rise complexes to the newest option, the independent cottages at Altenheim. An assisted-living complex is located on Washington Avenue, and a nursing home offering intermediate and skilled care is available a few blocks away on Edgington Lane. Another facility providing intermediate and skilled care is not far away either, situated on the Medical Park campus. George A. Dakovic, executive director of Altenheim Retirement Home, located at 1387 National Road, said that “in the early ’90s, people spent money building continuum of care complexes” in various parts of the country, with independent living, assisted living and nursing home facilities offered on one campus. “Here (in Wheeling), you have the same concept within a few blocks,” he observed. “They’re all high-end facilities; every level of care is high-end. You’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else that had a continuum of care like this.” With “assisted living right down the street” at the Welty Home and with Good Shepherd nursing home a few blocks away, the Altenheim board decided that a way to expand services would be to construct independent living cottages on its property.