Way clear for new nursing home at Cade

A zoning change approved by the St. Martin Parish Council Tuesday clears the way for construction of a new, larger nursing home with all private rooms. Harold J. Gamburg, president of Pathway Management. Inc., said the company is willing to donate the existing St. Martinville Rehabilitation & Nursing Center building on Claire Drive in St. Martinville to an appropriate public or non-profit entity. The new 124-bed nursing home will be built next to the Cade Community Center on Smede Highway, La. 92. Councilwoman Lisa Nelson, who represents the Cade area, assured the council that the area’s residents are overwhelmingly in support of the new business. The vote was unanimous, with Councilwoman Jill Hebert absent. Gamburg said the new nursing home will employ some 40 more people than the existing one and have $1.2 million payroll. Construction budget for the new facility is $12 million, he said. The company hopes to break ground on the new building by February and be ready to open within the year. Pathway Management, based in Ridgeland, Miss., owns 26 nursing homes in Louisiana and 26 in Mississippi. The new home will continue to offer short term physical, speech and occupational rehabilitation with its own entrance separate from the residential nursing care facility. The zoning change from R-2 to C-2 classification affects only the 13-acre tract on which the new facility wi