The Well•Spring Group to Acquire The Village at Brookwood

This is the next evolution in a six-year relationship with Cone Health

GREENSBORO, N.C. –The Well•Spring Group has entered into an agreement to acquire The Village at Brookwood from Cone Health. The Village is a continuing care retirement community – or “life plan community” – in Burlington.

Well•Spring has managed The Village since August 2017, having already provided planning and marketing support there since September 2015. The transaction is expected to be completed no later than June 2022, pending regulatory approval.

“As a local operator of a thriving community care retirement community, Well•Spring’s sole mission is to provide a healthy, active and safe living environment for seniors in our area.,” said Preston Hammock, senior vice president at Cone Health. “This expertise, along with their commitment to the same communities we serve, makes them the ideal organization to lead The Village into an exciting new chapter. This transition will ensure that The Village will remain a thriving community well into the future.”

The closure of Memorial Hospital of Alamance in 1995 prompted two community leaders – Dr. Jo Watts and Ralph Holt, Jr. – to launch a feasibility study around establishing a continuing care retirement community in Burlington. Alamance Regional Medical Center developed The Village at Brookwood and opened it in 2003. In 2013, Alamance Regional Medical Center along with the Village at Brookwood became part of Cone Health. “As the leading health care provider in Alamance County, Cone Health remains fully committed to supporting the health care needs of the residents of Alamance County,” says Hammock. “We will continue to work with Well•Spring to provide more critical care when it is needed.”

The Village at Brookwood and Well•Spring are both nonprofit corporations. As a result of the transaction, Well•Spring, will become the governing corporate member and nonprofit “parent” of The Village, replacing Cone Health, explained Steve Fleming, president and CEO of The Well•Spring Group.

“Well•Spring was honored to take on day-to-day operations of The Village over four years ago,” Fleming said. “We view our next chapter with The Village as a continuing community partnership, and we are proud to welcome The Village into the Well•Spring family. Our successful model for exceeding the needs of an evolving and diverse group of older adults promises to elevate even further what residents of The Village have come to expect in their community.”

As what is also referred to as a “life plan community,” The Village at Brookwood serves the residential and health needs of older adults from the time they move into independent living and throughout whatever future health care they might require, whether in assisted living, skilled nursing care or memory support.

The Well•Spring Group is a not-for-profit organization based in Greensboro. Its flagship operation – Well•Spring, A Life Plan Community – opened in 1993, the result of efforts led by a coalition of nine community churches that envisioned a need for a continuing care retirement community with services and amenities second to none. A sister branch of the organization, Well•Spring Solutions, focuses on the needs of seniors who remain at home, either through home care services or community-based adult day care for those experiencing dementia. Well•Spring Solutions also offers a full slate of programming for family caregivers, including education and support group opportunities.

Today, The Village at Brookwood is home to 247 residents, many of whom have gravitated there from throughout North Carolina and far beyond. Burlington’s ideal location near the center of North Carolina – almost equidistant from the mountains and the coast – offers residents limitless options, said Michael Garland, executive director of The Village. “And right here in Burlington, you have a city brimming with vitality, including the world-class Elon University, arts events at the Paramount Theatre, parks, lakes, great restaurants – so many of the things that people seek in a well-rounded living experience. Well-Spring is excited to become part of the fabric of this amazing community.”

Fleming said growing The Village at Brookwood’s relationship with Well•Spring makes perfect sense.

“Over the past 28 years, our life plan community in Greensboro has honed an approach to senior living that is among the very best in the country,” Fleming said. “We offer an environment that marries both hospitality and health care delivery to individuals committed to making the most of their retirement years and we do this in a way that provides them and their loved one’s peace of mind that they are safe and very well cared for. That’s what a life plan community is all about – and that very specialized expertise is what Well•Spring can provide The Village at Brookwood.”

Fleming also pointed out that once the proposed transaction between The Village and Well•Spring is finalized, attention will immediately turn to aspirational plans for the community.

“Well•Spring is committed to seeing that capital expenditures, including expanding the number of living units and repositioning existing health care units, take place soon after the transaction is completed,” he said. “We look forward to sharing details about this in the coming months. Meanwhile, our entire team in Greensboro is ready to embrace The Village and get to know even better its residents and those who live and lead in Alamance County.”