It's nearly impossible to drive north on Sumrall Road without noticing the extremely impressive facility called The Grove, situated on the right between Marion General Hospital and Orchard Park Independent Living.
A local skilled nursing facility, The Grove is renowned for its excellent reputation in offering short-term rehabilitation and long-term care to Columbia, Marion County and surrounding communities.
Co-owners, who also happen to be a brother and sister team, are Michael Bradshaw and Stephanie Herzig. Their father, Jack Bradshaw, had the opportunity to come to Columbia in 1984 when a small ICF/IID (Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities) became available.
The Bradshaw family fell in love with Columbia and decided to expand in 1992, when they purchased a 5-acre pecan orchard adjacent to Marion General Hospital and eventually built was is now The Grove. The owners grew up here, attended school here and still live in the area today.
"We've always been a locally owned and operated business since our parents opened it in 1992 as a 60-bed nursing home," Bradshaw said. "It's now an 86-bed skilled nursing facility that provides care across the entire spectrum — independent living, assistant living, skilled nursing and long-term care."
Like many businesses, including those in the healthcare industry, Covid has had a detrimental impact during the last 16 months. In fact, Bradshaw said The Grove experienced a 12-month lockdown period that restricted residents from visiting with their loved ones, which was incredibly difficult. However, he said, they can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and visitors are now allowed back again.
"As owners, we are very hands-on with our employees and our residents.," Bradshaw said. "We're in the facility every day and can handle any issues that may arise, which alleviates the need for any corporate intervention or delay in responding. Our office is always open and we will make ourselves available whenever we're needed."
Not having a steady flow of trained employees, particularly certified nursing assistants, has created a periodic obstacle for The Grove. However, they're in the process of getting certified to be able to train their own CNA's in-house to ensure a continuous stream of qualified employees to take care of the facility's residents.
"Our employees, without a doubt, are our greatest asset," Bradshaw said. "We have some employees that have been with our company for 20-plus years, and that is unheard of in this industry."
Bradshaw said The Grove is in need of employees, especially those who provide the day-to-day care that the residents depend on every day at the facility, and he's encouraged by Governor Tate Reeves' decision to opt-out of the additional federal unemployment benefits and optimistic that it will incentivize those skilled employees to rejoin the workforce sooner than later.
Going forward, Bradshaw said their plans include continuing to build on their great reputation within the community whenever the opportunity arises, such as the 2017 completion of Orchard Park, which is the independent living community located next door to The Grove. Also, in 2019, the facility was able to increase its overall capacity to 86 residents after purchasing six additional beds from Pearl River County Nursing Home.
"Owning a business in Columbia has been a great experience. There is an abundant and qualified workforce to draw from in this community, and we've had excellent community support," Bradshaw said. "I encourage anyone who is thinking of starting a business, any kind of business, to consider Columbia and Marion County because it's a great area to launch a business. There are a lot of consumers from surrounding areas who travel to Columbia, and that creates some great opportunities for businesses to flourish."
Anyone interested in obtaining more information on The Grove can contact (601) 736-4747. The facility is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
