American Health Management, which owns Horizon Adult Day and Horizon Home Care, has announced that it will build a new facility in Albany, Kentucky.

It has purchased a 25-acre parcel of land with a large house that will hold its regional office and 25 full-time employees.

The company also will build a 7,000-square-foot adult day center, which will have a capacity of serving 80 participants.

The property where the new facilities will be located is on the west outskirts of Albany at the intersection of U.S. 127 Bypass and Ky. 1590.

The house was the former home of the late Jim and Charlotte Dyer.

The construction has started, and the completion date is projected to be October.

“It’s fitting that we are locating our regional office in Albany because that is where the business started 22 years ago,” said Kelly W. Upchurch, president and CEO of American Health Management.

In 1997, Upchurch quit his job at a hospital to start American Health Management and fill the void for adult day-care services in rural areas.

Within 10 years, Upchurch, a psychologist, had opened 12 Horizon Adult Day centers in Kentucky.

Today, the company is the second largest adult day-care company operating in the commonwealth and the largest adult day health-care company headquartered in Kentucky. It also has expanded to provide in-home services, which created more than 250 jobs in two years.

AHM provides adult day health care services to the frail and elderly, including door-to-door transportation, skilled nursing services, nutritious meals and recreation opportunities. These services provide respite for family caregivers, allow them to remain working while they care for loved ones and help aging adults stay in their home longer.

Its Horizon Home Care provides personal care services in the home, such as hygiene and grooming, meal preparation, light housekeeping and transportation to appointments.

“Our success has been staying true to our mission,” Upchurch said. “We help families postpone, and in some cases, eliminate the decision to enter an institution or nursing home. We are filling a growing, unmet need in the state.”

There are more than 600,000 Kentuckians over age 65 and only about 27,000 nursing home beds.

In addition, more than one-third of Kentuckians over the age of 65 have four or more chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis; and the number of seniors with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase 28 percent in the next 10 years, according to a Kentucky Legislative Research Commission report.

“We are proud to help families keep their loved ones safe and at home,” Upchurch said. “Families trust us, and there is no greater responsibility or reward than that.”

Horizon Adult Health cares for seniors at 12 centers in Kentucky and provides at-home personal care statewide through Horizon Home Care. The Richmond, Kentucky-based provider is the second largest adult day provider in the state and the largest one based in Kentucky. It has served more than 3,000 families in 22 years.

Facilities are located in Bell, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Estill, Harlan, Jackson, Madison, McCreary, Rockcastle, Wayne and Whitley counties.

Upchurch holds dear to his heart his roots to Albany and Clinton County.

A 1984 graduate of Clinton County High School, he continues to serve on the Board of Directors of Trooper Island Camp, a summer camp in Clinton County on Dale Hollow Lake operated by the Kentucky State Police for underprivileged boys and girls in Kentucky.

Upchurch worked as a counselor at Trooper Island Camp when he was a college student at Eastern Kentucky University.