 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
United Methodist Homes History
In 2008, United Methodist Homes celebrated fifty years of serving the community. Choose from the sections at right to learn more about our past and our present.
The Early Years
The Homes’ program has its roots in the mid-1940s, when the Reverend Harry Brooks, Chairman of the Conference Hospital and Homes Board, began a campaign to start a Conference “Homes for the Aging” program out of his deep concern for the welfare of the elderly members of the Wyoming Conference. Reverend Brooks spent several years campaigning for such a program, and on September 28, 1951, the Methodist Homes for the Aged was incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania. The corporation elected its first officers and Trustees, and the members embarked on their mission to establish a Home for the Aged program within the Wyoming Conference.
In 1953, the Reverend Dr. Russell Hawke was appointed Superintendent of the Scranton District of the Wyoming Conference. Dr. Hawke was also concerned for the welfare of the elderly members of the Wyoming Conference, especially the retired ministers and their wives. The government did not implement the Medicaid and Medicare programs until the mid-1960s and the Conference had not established a health care program, nor were the ministers eligible for Social Security benefits; therefore, the ministers of the Wyoming Conference and their wives had to rely on their pensions as their sole income following retirement.
Following receipt of the Methodist Homes Corporation’s report by Annual Conference in 1956, the Wyoming Conference authorized the Corporation to establish a small home for the elderly which would accommodate 20 to 25 residents. This home was intended to be the first unit of a larger plan to be implemented as funds became available. Beginning in 1956, the Conference also authorized a pledge of $10,000 per year from the Annual Conference Benevolent Funds as a “lay-away plan” until an adequate amount was secured for the establishment of a Home for the Aged. The Methodist Homes for the Aging of the Wyoming Conference in the State of New York was incorporated on September 25, 1958, for the purpose of eventually expanding the program to the Binghamton and Oneonta Districts of the Conference in New York. [back to top]
The First Home
On February 3, 1958, the Trustees purchased a home located at 1760 North Washington Street in Scranton for $38,000 from the estate of Robert Moffatt. After remodeling, equipping a commercial kitchen, and furnishing the home, the final cost was $75,000. A Board of Directors was established on March 27, 1958 for the purpose of managing and operating the proposed Scranton Home. The officers of that Board of Directors were Dr. Hawke as President of the Board, Mrs. Jacob Schumacher as Secretary, and Mr. Edward Huber as Treasurer. The Scranton home was opened in January of 1959, housing six residents. Mrs. Hazel Thompson, the Home’s administrator, also resided at the home. The Scranton Home remained in operation until 1974, when it was sold for $100,000. The 10 individuals in residence were relocated to the new Hilltop Campus in Johnson City, NY, which opened in March of that year.
The Scranton home had served its intended purpose: to provide housing for the elderly. Its establishment also resulted in sizable donations that permitted the construction of new United Methodist Homes facilities in other districts of the Wyoming Conference. [back to top]
The Second Home
The Murray-Tufts-Garrett Manor in Beach Lake, PA, was the second Homes facility. Mrs. Delphine Garrett of Philadelphia donated her summer residence – a 16-acre parcel, including a house -- to the Methodist Homes. She also gave $25,000 in start-up funds for the new home. At Mrs. Garrett’s request, the facility was named Murray-Tufts-Garrett Manor in honor of her mother, her grandfather and herself. The main house was completely renovated, and a wing containing 15 private rooms, each with its own powder room, was added to the home. The facility opened in July of 1961 with a total investment of $135,000. Upon her death, Mrs. Garrett’s estate provided the facility with a $350,000 endowment fund. The income from the fund established by the Garrett estate was used to add another eight single rooms with private baths, a large lounge, and a two-room apartment for the administrator, and an enlargement of the kitchen and dining area. The new addition was occupied in 1965. The facility, which housed 25 residents, was converted to a personal care facility during the mid-1990s. On January 1, 1999, the facility was sold to Wayne Memorial Health Systems. [back to top]
The Sixties
Elizabeth Church Manor, the third facility in the Methodist Homes system, was opened in the Binghamton District of the Wyoming Conference in February 1963. An additional wing consisting of 40 beds was built and opened in November 1967. Elizabeth Church Manor was named for Mrs. Elizabeth Church, who donated $150,000 in IBM stock for the establishment of a home in the Binghamton District. The Boland house, now used as office space, was purchased for $70,000, and a 40-room wing with commons areas was built adjacent to it.
The success of the Homes’ program in Pennsylvania and Binghamton generated considerable interest in developing a similar program in the Conference’s Oneonta District. In 1967, a Development Committee was formed to search for a building site and to raise monies for construction. The same year, the Homes received sizable donations from Miss Lou Ella Gridley and Miss Doris L. Patrick for the establishment of such facility. After two attempts to establish a facility in Oneonta, the Homes instead used the funds to purchase a 26-acre parcel in Norwich, NY, which was not developed until the mid-1980s.
Tunkhannock Manor, formerly known as Methodist Manor, opened in January 1969. It was originally a residential facility and was converted to a personal care home in 1995. There are a total of 37 personal care beds and approximately 40 staff members. [back to top]
The Seventies
The first Hilltop facility, Van Gorden Manor, opened in March 1974. Mr. John (Jack) Van Gorden donated 40 acres of land on Deyo Hill Road in Johnson City, NY, for the establishment and construction of this campus. When it opened, the facility offered domiciliary care (now known as adult care) and residential living. Sunset Heights -- 16 one- and two-bedroom apartments built in a four-plex design -- opened in 1977, offering independent living units. The Eastwood building, consisting of 25 one- and two-bedroom apartments, was added onto the main Hilltop building in 1980 to accommodate the need for more independent living units. In 1984, the 80-bed James G. Johnston Memorial Nursing Home opened at Hilltop.
The Wesley Village Campus, situated on 60 acres of land in Pittston, PA, opened in August 1978 as a 177-bed skilled nursing/intermediate care facility. There are currently 183 skilled nursing beds at the Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility. Myers Manor, which opened in 1979 as independent living apartments for the frail elderly, offers enriched living services to the residents. The Anderson Personal Care Facility, named for Colonel Robert S. Anderson, MD of Wilkes-Barre, opened in 1989 as a 78-bed personal care facility. [back to top]
The Eighties
In 1985, the Homes used its 26-acre Norwich parcel for the construction of the GraceView Manor apartments, a HUD Section 202/8 program consisting of 30 one-bedroom and 10 efficiency independent living apartments. GraceView Manor, which opened in 1985, was named for Lou Ella Gridley’s mother, Grace.
In 1986, United Methodist Homes’ Hilltop Campus launched an intergenerational program with the establishment of the Grand Care Children’s Center, a day care center licensed by the New York State Education Department. The Center offers child care services for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, and accepts the children of Homes employees as well as the general public.
The children visit Hilltop nearly every day to participate in activities with the residents.
In 1989, the Homes received a donation of 20 additional acres of land for the Hilltop Campus. The property was used for the construction of the Highlands independent living community, which opened in 1992 with a community center and eight units. Today there are 76 townhouse units at the Highlands. In the mid-1990s, the Hilltop Campus added two specialized dementia units, called STAR and SUN. STAR (sensitivity, treatment and respect), a 40-bed dementia unit, opened in 1994 to care for more high-level dementia residents. SUN (sensitivity, understanding and nurturing) opened in June 1997 as a light-care dementia wing. [back to top]
The Nineties
In 1992, the Pearl and Everett Gilmour Health Care Facility, an 80-bed skilled nursing facility, opened in Norwich, adjacent to the GraceView Manor apartments. The campus was named the Doris L. Patrick Campus for Doris L. Patrick, whose donation in the 1960s made the land purchase possible. Both GraceView Manor and the Pearl and Everett Gilmour Health Care Facility offer support and care to persons in the Oneonta District.
In 1994, a new 120-bed skilled nursing facility was constructed on the Elizabeth Church Manor site, and the original building was converted into 52 units of adult care and 21 independent living apartments. The facility was called St. Louise Manor, and it opened on November 1, 1996. In 1999, 24 of the 52 adult care beds were converted to licensed assisted living, offering more services and greater flexibility to residents. [back to top]
The Twenty-First Century
Brooks Estates, the first licensed continuing-care retirement community in northeast Pennsylvania, welcomed residents in September 2001. Brooks Estates consists of 103 townhouse units and a community center with a lap pool, chapel, library, wellness center, movie theater, and general meeting space.
In late 2010, United Methodist Homes sold the Pearl and Everett Gilmour Health Care Facility on the Doris L. Patrick Campus in Norwich. In 2011, the Homes sold Grace View Manor on the Doris L. Patrick Campus in Norwich.
The Homes Today
All members of the United Methodist Homes’ Board of Directors, past and present, deserve credit for the faith and long-range planning that placed the organization on a solid foundation at the outset. Through the vision of the Board of Directors and the management team, the Homes operates four successful campuses in the Twin Tiers, and has 1,200 staff members who care for nearly 1,500 residents. Each campus has a caring, competent and dedicated team of professionals providing services to each resident. Homes’ staff members take a holistic approach to meeting the residents’ physical, mental and spiritual needs. [back to top]
Leadership
1958-1976
The Reverend Dr. Russell Hawke was President of the Board of Directors from 1958 to 1963. On February 1, 1963, he was appointed as the first Executive Director of the Methodist Homes for the Aged. He retired from this position on October 28, 1976.
1976-1980
S. Lowell Barnes succeeded Dr. Hawke and held the position of Executive Director for the next four years.
1980-present
In May 1980, Keith D. Chadwick, Hilltop Campus Administrator, was promoted to Executive Director of United Methodist Homes. In 1981, his title was changed to President and CEO.