This is the continuation of the article by Courtney Cutright at the Roanoke Times Online regarding the adult assisted living facility coming to Smith Mountain Lake.

"The Runks met while attending Liberty University and married after graduation. She went to work in admissions at a Lynchburg nursing home.

"When I had my first child, I hated to leave him to go to work," Vickie Runk said. "I wanted to bring in an income and still spend time with my child."

Perusing through the classified advertisements in the fall of 1992, she stumbled upon an Appomattox County assisted-living center that was for sale.

"It was a 19-bed facility that had been in business for 38 years," said Vickie Runk. "The lady who ran it was on her deathbed."

With the help of her parents, the young couple purchased the home and fixed it up.

"Within six months we had 20 people on a waiting list," Vickie Runk said.

Less than a year later came the phone call that changed Runk & Pratt’s future. The owner of an assisted-living facility on Main Street in Bedford called seeking immediate placement for 15 women. Vickie Runk knew it was impossible to take in the residents, so she told the owner she wanted to see the facility.

"Within two days we bought it," she said.

After four years, the Appomattox facility closed and the residents were moved to a newer, larger location on Leesville Road in Lynchburg. The former Moose Lodge added 80 beds to Runk & Pratt’s offerings.

Building on their success, Runk & Pratt purchased the memory-care center in Forest in 2000.

From the first facility in Appomattox County to date, Runk & Pratt’s payroll started with six and has grown to more than 90 employees.

"You lose a little when you start growing," Vickie Runk admitted

In the early days, she wore all the hats, including a nurse’s uniform at times. The Runks spent all day every day running the first assisted-living center.

A larger staff allows Brian Runk to oversee the corporate office.

"She is the visionary, the marketing person," he said of his wife of 19 years.

Vickie Runk remembered when she knew every resident personally and how their faces would light up when they saw her, but the family’s success is demonstrative of the level of care provided, she said.

"Folks say we’re a nursing home," Brian Runk said. "We’re not that."

Residents with medical problems, such as those requiring intravenous medicine or feeding tubes, would need to be cared for in a nursing home or hospital.

The services Runk & Pratt offers at its assisted-living facilities include 24-hour supervised care, three hot meals, daily laundry and housekeeping service, recreational activities and on-site physical, speech and occupational therapy. Transportation to doctors’ appointments also is provided.

"Westlake is a hub," Brian Runk said. "We are anxious to meet all the needs and are open-minded to whatever grows out of that."

Construction on the facility is expected to take approximately 14 months.

"It is a gift from us to that community," Vickie Runk said."

Thanks to Courtney Cutright at Roanoke.com.