The Forest At Duke Inc

The Forest at Duke welcomed its first residents in 1992 with a mission to provide a caring, responsible community that fosters the independence of residents of retirement age by enhancing their ability to lead purposeful, active, healthy and secure lives. The 47-acre campus is home to approximately 500 residents and includes 304 independent living residences, 32 assisted living suites and 58 skilled nursing residences. In 2007, The Forest was awarded a BBB+ credit rating by Fitch Ratings, achieved national Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities/Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CARF-CCAC) accreditation, and received another health center deficiency free survey from the NC Department of Health Regulators. In 2007, The Forest also chose to participate in the Medicare Part A program and gained certification under Medicare. In December 2022, The Forest at Duke was reviewed by CARF-CCAC and earned another five-year term as an accredited continuing retirement community. The Forest has completed the construction of 15 cottage homes and all were occupied by the end of fiscal year 2015. The renovation to the Community Center, including enlarging the Fitness Center, enhancing dining and other interior program modifications, was completed by the end of fiscal year 2016. In June 2021, The Forest completed the financing to build a new health center on its current campus. The facility will have 90 new units in the "small house" format in a five-story, approximately 110,000 square foot building. The small house model of care is designed around houses (or groups of rooms) in which each house has 10 private rooms each with a bathroom and all common spaces and support areas located within the house. The small house model will provide the same scope of services, each neighborhood will have a team that provides the care, residents will have short walking distances to increase level of independence, resident privacy, additional dining and fitness venues. The project is complete and the residents moved into the new health center in February 2023. In November 2022, The Forest completed the financing for Phase Two of the project. The project includes the addition of seventy-one (71) new independent living apartments and an expanded community center which connects the existing community center to the health center. The expanded community center also includes service and amenity spaces such as additional dining, fitness area, classroom, multipurpose rooms, a clinic and office spaces. The new apartments have an average of 1,450 square feet with spacious open-living design floorplans, ten foot ceilings, and finishes commensurate with high-end real estate in the market area. Other features include gourmet kitchens with stainless steel appliances, large covered balconies or ground level patios for outdoor living in each apartment home. Each apartment home is expected to include assigned underground parking. The project was substantially complete in July 2025 and new residents began to take occupancy of their new homes in September 2025. The Forest at Duke takes seriously its commitment to social responsibility and leadership. Outreach includes major annual corporate financial assistance to the Durham Council for Senior Citizens, the Durham Center for Senior Life, the Senior PHARMAssist Program, and Rogers-Herr Middle School. Throughout the year, other local non-profits are helped with cash, in-kind and volunteer donations as well. More than 75,000 resident volunteer hours per year benefit local schools, churches, Duke Hospitals and other area service organizations. The Forest continues to have strong associations with educational and licensing institutions. The community serves as a training site for: * Geriatric Fellows - Duke University Medical Center * Internal Medicine Residents - Duke University Medical Center * Nursing students - Watts School of Nursing * Interns in the Leadership in Aging Program - Duke University * Therapeutic recreation interns from surrounding universities * Nursing Home Administrators - The North Carolina Board of Licensing of Nursing Home Administrators The Forest actively participates with its peers in the industry through Association involvement. Forest employees often serve in leadership and as presenters at state and national educational sessions. The Forest maintains memberships in the following professional associations: * LeadingAge * Leading Age North Carolina * North Carolina Health Care Association * American Health Care Association * Durham Chamber of Commerce * North Carolina Coalition for Long Term Care Enhancement * Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments