From Tribune staff reports

Fresh off the Bancroft Creek Estates expansion project, Good Samaritan Center announced Wednesday that it plans another large project &045; a $3.3 million effort that will add 24 assisted-living units to the senior-living complex.

The center will launch a community-wide fund-raising campaign for the assisted-living center. According to Administrator Mark Anderson, Good Samaritan has already raised one third of the money required for the project. He said he hopes the project can start in spring 2004.

The assisted-living center will include 20 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units, each complete with a living room, kitchenette and bathroom. Residents will have services including light housekeeping and laundry, three meals a day, transportation and activities. Staff will be available 24 hours a day to assist with

medications and personal care.

&uot;Our mission at Albert Lea Good Samaritan Center is to provide services to seniors and others in need,&uot; Anderson said in a written statement. &uot;Expanding our health-care continuum by building an assisted-living campus will allow us to continue sharing that mission with local and area residents.&uot;

Albert Lea Good Samaritan Center offers skilled nursing care for 182 residents, as well as the 44-unit Bancroft Creek Estates complex, which offers senior housing with services.

The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society recently purchased 12 acres of land to expand Albert Lea Good Samaritan’s services to include not only assisted living, but also twin homes. Other possible building options being explored are HUD housing and a main-street facade connecting Good Samaritan Center and Bancroft Creek Estates, the statement said.