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"Over the years our membership has requested services in the Pittsburgh and Warminster areas, and with our partnership with the Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, in 1998, we have been able to satisfy many of those needs," Bro. Murphy said. "In our construction in the Pittsburgh area, we will have the opportunity to use the knowledge and expertise we learned in the development of many service areas in Elizabethtown to serve our members closer to their hometowns."
The master plan for the expansion of the Valley Care Masonic Center at Sewickley, near Pittsburgh, into a 50-acre continuing-care retirement community, was approved by the Committee on Masonic Homes on Sept. 24, 1999. The committee decided to name the entire campus the Masonic Village at Sewickley.
The first building to be constructed on campus will be a 60-bed assisted living facility, adjacent to the 128-bed Valley Care Masonic Center. Construction officially began after the groundbreaking ceremony held on June 25. The building is expected to open for residents in October 2001. At that time, the residents and staff at the Masonic Eastern Star Home-West, Pittsburgh, will move to the new facility. The Pittsburgh building then will be sold.
The transition to Sewickley will be an adjustment for the residents who are quite happy in their current home.
"I have everything I need here," said Bro. Joseph Croyle, Lodge No. 45, Pittsburgh. "The meals are great; the service is good; the housekeepers do a great job. We have flowers growing in the garden... and the activities have been good. I have no worries," he said.
According to Bro. William C. Davis Jr., Chief Operating Officer for the Masonic Homes, many of the reasons for the residents' happiness will be moving right along with them to their new home in Sewickley.
"We recognize the special bond that naturally forms among our residents and staff. That is why we are encouraging our employees in Pittsburgh to simply move with us to Sewickley."
For other residents, however, the move couldn't come soon enough. Bro. Francis "Mike" Partridge, Ellwood Lodge No. 599, dearly misses his wife, Doris, who moved to the Valley Care Masonic Center on Sept. 23, 1999. While he still spends three days a week with her, after 55 years of marriage, that just isn't enough.
A Mason for 32 years, Bro. Partridge has written, recorded and sung gospels and even played in a barbershop quartet with his three sons. Now he shares his music with the residents at the Masonic Eastern Star Home-West. He hopes to take the organ to Sewickley so he can play for his wife again.
Ms. Cynthia Stefl, Administrator, Masonic Eastern Star Home-West, said that she and the Social Services, Therapeutic Recreation, and Nursing staff have been spending a lot of one-on-one time with residents and their families to help them through this transition period as residents move from Pittsburgh to Sewickley.
According to B.J. Franks, Executive Director, Masonic Village at Sewickley, the key to preparing staff and residents for change is continuous, open communication. She holds frequent meetings to update staff, residents, and family members on the upcoming construction, renovations, inconveniences, and benefits associated with the expansion project.
The Committee on Masonic Homes, with input from the Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, chose to name the new assisted living facility at Sewickley the "Star Points Building" to recognize Eastern Star and reflect the strong tradition that the residents and staff of the Masonic Eastern Star Home-West will bring with them to their new home. After working together for two years to provide a continuum of services to the
"I think it is very kind of the Masons to acknowledge the Order of the Eastern Star by naming the building in honor of the Five Star Points," said Mrs. Arlene Flohr, Worthy Grand Matron, Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star.
Depending upon interest, as many as 231 retirement living apartments and 23 retirement living cottages also may be built in three phases on the Sewickley campus. The first phase of the project could open for residents as early as Spring of 2003.
Plans for the campus possibly may include such conveniences as a wellness center, day care area, medical clinics, a pool, and a clubhouse, among other desired features.
Mrs. Lorraine Toth, resident at the Masonic Eastern Star Home-West, said that she is looking forward to using the wellness center and the pool, the way she used to exercise on her own. She is also happy to hear that she will soon have easy access to a convenience store. Most important to this avid bookworm, however, is a library with a wide selection of books.
Debbie Homjak, Director of Nursing for the Masonic Village at Sewickley, said the staff and residents have been looking forward to the construction on their campus.
Operated by the Valley Care Association since 1984, the nursing home portion of the Sewickley campus had always been part of a larger vision: to offer a continuing care retirement community to serve seniors in the Sewickley Valley. This vision only became a reality, however, when the Masonic Homes of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania purchased the facility on June 1, 1999, under the leadership of then-R.W. Grand Master James L. Ernette. In January 1999, the Masonic Homes conducted a market demand analysis of Masons and Eastern Star members in western Pennsylvania and the local Sewickley community to determine the future growth and expansion of services at the home.
With information from a mail survey and focus group meetings with Masons, Eastern Star members, and residents in the Sewickley Valley, the Committee on Masonic Homes was able to identify the level of potential customers' interest in assisted living and retirement living services, their preferences for options, and the desired amenities in a retirement community. After creating a master plan, a financial analysis determined the approximate cost to offer the services.
To ensure that they were on the right track, the committee also consulted another group of "experts" as to what types of services should be offered. They asked residents and staff at the Masonic Eastern Star Home-West and the Valley Care Masonic Center.
Bro. Edward Cover, a member of the Committee on Masonic Homes, has worked as a liaison to the homes. As such, he attends quarterly Resident Council meetings, which include the officers of the Residents' Associations, Administrator, or Executive Director of each home, and Bro. Davis.
"My position is to be an observer for the Committee on Masonic Homes," Bro. Cover said. "Basically it gives me an opportunity to learn first-hand of any concerns or questions residents might have regarding their current situation at their home or questions about the Masonic Homes in general. If I take a concern to the Committee on Masonic Homes and the committee acts upon it, I take that information back and share it with the resident council."
"The benefit of having board members work face-to-face with residents and staff is our ability to develop an understanding and sensitivity for the concerns and needs of the people we are working together to serve," Grand Master Dluge said. "That way, we know that we have all of our bases covered and all of the background information we need to make good, strategic decisions for the present and future generations." |
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Residents and staff in the western part of the state are sharing the same types of ideas, concerns, and opportunities with the expansion of services there.
