Emeritus, Columbia Pacific joint venture to open senior care facility in China

Seattle-based Cascade Healthcare, a joint venture between investor Columbia Pacific Advisors and U.S. senior living provider Emeritus Corporation, has received approval from the Shanghai government to open the first foreign-owned, for-profit senior care facility in China, according to an announcement.

Construction will begin in October on the 100-bed prototype facility, which is scheduled to open in May 2012. Cascade intends to spend nearly $5 million to remodel the building and create a skilled and rehab senior care facility similar to what Emeritus operates in the United States.

“The need for senior care in China is staggering,” said Dan Baty, a principal investor in Columbia Pacific Advisors and Chairman of Emeritus. “Over the next 10 years China’s senior population will grow to 280 million people according to its census, and there are virtually no senior care facilities.”

According to Baty’s statement, the prototype facility will allow the developers to “refine our facility design and staffing to meet the specific desires of the population that we are going to serve.”

Costs for seniors will be similar to those in the U.S. and will be based on the level of care needed, the announcement stated. Payment will primarily come from family members rather than government programs or insurance.

Though Cascade Healthcare is a joint venture, Columbia Pacific will play a larger role in developing senior care facilities in China. Columbia Pacific has been building and operating hospitals in Asia under a related company, Columbia Asia, since 1994, which has been “critical” in moving the senior care project forward, the statement read.

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