At MDP, we are proud of our long-term client relationships and the opportunity to innovate and evolve with some of the top senior living providers in the country. We have been fortunate to work with Parker Health Group over the past 20 years. We began collaborating with the organization in 2002 and have worked closely with President & CEO Roberto Muñiz since our very first day with Parker.

“It is such a career highlight to reflect on the partnership we have formed with Parker over the last 20 years, and a true honor,” says MDP Principal Bruce Hurowitz. “We enjoy the collaborative process with the entire Parker team.”

The success of this collaborative partnership relies on trusted team members, such as Spiezle Architectural Group. Spiezle is one of MDP’s long-term architectural partners. MDP and Spiezle have developed a strong working relationship supporting the growth of Parker on numerous projects.

With every project Parker aims higher. They challenge their project partners to continue to innovate and think bigger as they continue to explore ways to elevate their mission—”challenging, changing and expanding the idea of what it means to grow older in America and how all of us can make aging part of life.”

MDP has been part of the Parker’s care model evolution on a portfolio of projects:

2002: Parker at River Road — Nursing Home Resident Room & Restroom Renovations

2004: Parker Evergreen Way —Misc. Renovation & Nurse Station at Memory Support Small Home Nursing Residence

2005: Parker at Landing Lane—Misc. Renovation Projects (two new care bases & nursing resident room renovations)

2007: Parker at Stonegate—Parker’s First Assisted Living Community

2008: Pavilion at Parker—A Community Center (Adult Day Care, Children’s Day Care, Aquatic Center, Salon & Fitness, Parker Corp offices)

2015: Parker at Monroe—New Small Home Long Term Care and Memory Support Community

2017 thru present

Parker at Somerset—Addition & Reconfiguration of Existing Nursing facility to new Small Home Model 120 bed Long-Term Care and Post-Acute Community

2020 thru present: Parker at Stonegate—Community Refresh to Assisted Living Community

Parker at Somerset

A testament to Parker’s commitment to redefining long-term care is especially evident at the recently opened expansion of Parker at Somerset. The 120-bed post-acute rehabilitation and long-term care residence is located on a sprawling, wooded 14-acre campus in Somerset, New Jersey.

The initial phase of this repositioning effort was to create a new 75,000-sq.ft. contemporary addition to better represent the updated ParkerLife brand and serve as the new front door to their exceptional healthcare experience. The interior design intent was to create a modern aesthetic and carefully considered space plan to support advanced programming trends in long and short team care in order to maintain Parker’s reputation as a national thought leader and position the organization for the future.

“Our vision is to make Parker at Somerset the standard of what advanced senior care will look like in New Jersey going forward,” explains Muñiz. “It offers a complete spectrum of aging services, as well as access to an entire healthcare network through our established partnerships with top medical and healthcare providers, all under one roof.”

The design of Parker at Somerset provides the community with a contemporary, hospitality-inspired experience that seamlessly integrates next-generation safety and technology with comfortable living spaces and warm social settings. A variety of amenities, design features and programs support active living and connectivity. The addition includes a ground floor café, second level spacious state of the art therapy suite, gathering areas between resident neighborhoods, large private guest suites, bariatric suites as well as an Adult Day Care and Child Day Care to support intergenerational programming.

The environment supports a small home model focused on the latest proven practices, in which seniors enjoy no more than 16 spacious private suites per neighborhood and rehabilitate using high-tech equipment under the direction of clinical care specialists. The resident neighborhoods are connected to generous communal spaces in a setting with living, dining, and activity areas to encourage socialization. Residents may dine together or privately and spend their days enjoying carefully curated programs and activities.

In addition to offering a contemporary, hospitality-inspired setting, Parker at Somerset was uniquely designed in response to the needs of seniors post-pandemic. According to Muñiz, the building incorporates the latest in infection control technologies typically found only in top-tier healthcare environments.

Highlighted features include:

• Completely touchless access points.
• Surfaces treated to prevent microbial proliferation.
• Visitor areas designed to support safe socialization, even under lockdown conditions.
• Bipolar ionization to inactivate pathogens in the air.
• Hospital-grade negative air pressure systems to ventilate rooms and ensure air is not re-circulated into other areas of the community.
• Care partner wearable hand hygiene technology providing proven sustainable hygiene compliance, infection reduction and increased customer satisfaction.

“Parker at Somerset has been constructed in a way that it can be easily reconfigured and retrofitted as infection control technologies evolve,” says Beth Sparling, Parker’s Chief Operating Officer. “One of the greatest features of this building is the way it can adapt and evolve based on need. It’s a remarkable forward-thinking achievement, and we’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

With the new expansion open, the design and construction teams will now focus on the full renovation of the original 50,000-square foot building to complete the modernization of the entire site.

“Our team is proud of all that has been and continues to be accomplished on the Parker at Somerset project,” says Hurowitz. “It is incredible to think about the origin of this trusted partnership and all that we have built together over the last 20 years. We are always evolving and tackling challenges, and even being tested—such as with the COVID pandemic. We have innovated and thrived together, always committed to the betterment of senior living.”