Brethren Retirement
Brethren Retirement Community was chosen as Skilled Care's Customer of the Month for July 2011, nominated for their state of the art adult daycare, patient centered care, very community oriented and mission focused, computerized e-charting, nearly perfect survey, and overall great partnering with Skilled Care and other vendors.
Facility Interview with Janet Julian, Administrator & John Warner, President/CEO:
Tell Us More About Brethren Retirement Community
The vision for our community began over 100 years ago when a group of Brethren met to discuss the need for a comfortable, secure place where people could retire and be cared for when they could no longer care for themselves. In 1902 the vision and dedicated effort of a group of men and women from the area Church of the Brethren began the mission of service to older adults at Brethren Retirement Home, the first nursing home in Darke County. Their vision provided for "complete" retirement services including independent living, assisted care, and skilled nursing – a vision that we still embrace.
For over 100 years the legacy of that mission of caring has continued. Over the years, as our community’s needs for senior living options and the face of aging changed, so did we! We added on to our main buildings and added different levels of care; a skilled nursing health center and two independent living villages to accommodate the needs of our residents. Chestnut Village, our independent living village on the Greenville Campus was added in 1986 and Mill Ridge Village, our independent living village in Union, Ohio - just 25 miles away - was added in 1996.
In 1998 we changed our name to Brethren Retirement Community. We are a team of 350 professionals committed to providing compassionate, quality resident-centered care and individual therapies while promoting creativity, innovation and excellence in our respective areas.
In 2009, we continued to see the face of aging shift and the decision was made to form Brethren Home Community Services to provide solutions to seniors who wish to age in place. This allows Brethren Retirement Community to provide non-medical services to independent living residents and the greater community. With the increased desire by older adults to remain in their own homes this new ministry will help them do just that. In March 2010, we opened Shuff Adult Day Center that allows participants to remain at home and also have an opportunity to interact socially with peers, share in stimulating activities and receive assistance with activities of daily living with dignity.
Brethren Retirement Community is committed to expressing Christ's love for our 450 residents by providing the finest quality of care and services. We are proud of the compassionate, person-centered care delivered by our dedicated staff that serve our residents and carry out our mission each and every day.
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Resident Aid
In the late 1800s, the local Brethren came together with a vision and a mission to formulate plans for what is now Brethren Retirement Community. Their vision of creating a home for the widows, orphans and elderly was also their vision to create a legacy for their children and grandchildren. We are those grandchildren and it is this same dream that unites us today – over a century and millions of dollars later -- as caretakers of their dream. In 1902, their generosity of time, talent and money made it a reality and it continues to be one of our county’s most valuable assets.
The Resident Aid Fund was created to provide immediate assistance to residents in financial need; it offers peace of mind while preserving the quality of life and maintaining the dignity of those residents. Simply stated, the Resident Aid Fund provides for an anonymous process of meeting financial short falls.
Brethren Retirement Community is a not-for-profit ministry. While our organization receives revenues for the services it provides, these revenues alone do not cover all the financial needs of our residents who have exhausted their financial resources.
In the 109 years that Brethren Retirement Community has served seniors, we have never asked a resident to move due to their inability to pay. 100% of the money donated to the Resident Aid Fund benefits our elderly residents who have exhausted their financial means, through no fault of their own.
BRC is Committed To Eden
In 2001, Brethren Retirement Community made its official pledge by becoming a Certified Home on the Eden Alternative Registry. The core concept of The Eden Alternative is strikingly simple - we see our environments as habitats for human beings rather than a facility for the frail and elderly. We want to make our campus into a home, a place where elders feel comfortable and safe and well cared for and that care givers want to come to work. The Eden Alternative movement emphasizes how relationships with staff, each other and the community as well as companion animals, give meaning, variety and spontaneity and indicate a community that is alive. The Eden Alternative is about working together, side by side, not from the top down, to create a better world for our residents. It is about enabling the residents and those who care for them, to make as many decisions as possible regarding their care and environment.
Brethren Retirement Community is committed to continuing the journey of “Edenizing” our campus in order to enhance the lives of our elders, families, staff and community. We will continue to try new ideas, to implement new programs and to grow in order to create an environment that nurtures the philosophy that life truly is worth living to the very end.
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Meeting the spiritual needs of our resident’s, their families, and the greater community is an integral part of Brethren Retirement Community’s mission and is embraced through our core values of benevolence, stewardship, compassion, and excellence each and everyday through the Manna program collaboration between the Bradford Area Association of Churches (BAAC) and Brethren Retirement Community.
In the Bible, manna was the miraculous bread that the Lord provided for his people in the wilderness. In Bradford, Manna is a daily meal that is provided to approximately 350 people weekly. The folks receiving these meals may be ill, infirm, or elderly. They may just need the daily contact with another person; someone to check in and see how they are doing.
The program was born when management from the Brethren Retirement Community heard a report presented by Associate Pastor John Shelton on the Community Kitchen sponsored by the Bradford Church of the Brethren. In talking with Pastor Shelton, there was a concern expressed by many of the residents and staff of the Brethren Retirement Community. Many felt that it was extremely wasteful that BRC had to throw away so much unused food. Required by regulation to have certain quantities of food prepared daily for residents every day, the kitchen staff was also prohibited by regulation from saving what was prepared but not used.
Pastor Shelton later shared this information with people in Bradford who he knew had a heart to help their neighbors. Donna Reed, who had previous experience with the Community Kitchen, thought there ought to be a way to retrieve this food and put it to use. The conversation became a community affair as the president of the BAAC, Nazarene pastor Louis Reindel, joined in the vision of saving this wasted food to minister to the needs of Bradford’s people. BRC Chaplain, Bob Bitner, was made the liaison between the retirement facility and the BAAC. Bitner reminds us that Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12, verses 4-6, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.”
As Bob embarks on this mission he says, “It is a great feeling to see this lived out. It takes many people with different gifts, services, and activities to make this work, along with God leading.”
Mike Randolph, dining services director for BRC, went to the County health department to clear the way for the Brethren Retirement Community to donate their unused food to the BAAC. Mike shares, “God blessed us with John Shelton and Donna Reed (and then Louis Reindel) who had a passion for this ministry. The residents and staff at Brethren Retirement Community loved the idea and implementation of this program. The dining services staff takes great pride and care in packaging the food every day for the churches. It has been gratifying to work with these wonderful people to help those in need in our community.”
With this important step accomplished, volunteers were signed up to pick up the food, repackage it, and deliver it. BAAC leadership developed program guidelines and sought out community members they could serve by providing a daily meal.
With the donation of a machine to seal the meals in microwaveable trays, the stage was set. The first meals were delivered June 1st, 2008. Since then, well-over 40,000 meals have been delivered by 70 plus volunteers committed to enhancing the lives of the often forgotten homebound elderly.
But above all, this program has worked because the people of the churches of Bradford have joined together to be the heart and hands of the Lord in their community. They have seen the way that the Lord will bless as they look beyond their differences to the love of the Lord that they all serve. Brethren Retirement Community is also committed to expressing Christ’s love through our daily ministry to help and serve others.
Awards and Commendations:
The Daily Advocate Reader’s Choice Awards:
Voted The Best In Darke County
Nursing Home---6th Consecutive Year
Assisted Living---2nd Consecutive Year
Outpatient Rehab
Adult Day Center
Nurse
Home Care----2nd Place
Catering---2nd Place
Senior Resource Alliance---2010 Mission Focused Award Recipient
Community Involvement:
Brethren Retirement Community receives help daily from our local community, but also takes great pride in being able to support Darke County as well as part of our ministry. Last year, we had 19,600 hours of volunteer hours by 264 volunteers. Thanks to the greater community and our residents who volunteered and shared their talents at BRC. In 2010, BRC contributed to 24 Darke County Charitable/School/ and Civic Organizations. Brethren Retirement Community also continues to increase the number of local vendors that we support. In 2010, we were able to use 79 Darke County Vendors. As the 3rd largest employer in Darke County, we continually celebrate the years of service that our employees have dedicated, but also have been able to welcome many High School students to our staff. For many, BRC is their first employment experience and we are able to help lead them down the path to success in the healthcare field. All in all, Brethren Retirement Community seeks every opportunity to be able to support our local community.
Skilled Care Pharmacy would like to congratulate Brethren Retirement Community on their selection as Facility of the Month. Thank you for all that you do for your customers, staff, vendors, and all those whom you serve in your community.
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