The 2017 annual report for Episcopal Retirement Services is out, and it’s official: 2017 was our best year yet.
We mean that not only financially, but also in many other areas that support our mission of person-centered, dignified care for seniors in our community.
“This rock-solid position will not be a place for us to rest on our laurels as an organization. We plan instead for it to be a launch pad for ERS to lead future innovation in aging-care services,” said ERS President & CEO Laura Lamb in the Spring Issue of Linkage.
“For the older adults that we serve and their families, we’ve been making a positive difference in their lives for more than 67 years,” Lamb continued. “With our eyes on 2025 and beyond, we commit to you, and to those we serve, that we will address the community’s needs and advocate for the highest level of aging services and quality of life for older adults in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.”
Here are four ways that we expanded our mission in 2017 to improve the lives of older adults through quality senior living communities and community-based services throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana:
“This rock-solid position will not be a place for us to rest on our laurels as an organization. We plan instead for it to be a launch pad for ERS to lead future innovation in aging-care services,”
Serving More Seniors
In 2017, we served 13,417 individuals served in our premier and Affordable Living communities and with our community outreach programs. We increased our Affordable Living apartments by nearly 30 percent, from 1,527 in 2015 to 1,178 in 2017.
In addition, our Good Samaritan Mission Fund raised $1.62 million in Residential Financial Aid. The fund supports ERS ministry programs and services for older adults, residents of our Affordable Living communities and seniors served by programs including Parish Health Ministry, Deupree Meals On Wheels and SAIDO.
Want to help support the Good Samaritan Fund? Join us at our Great Gatsby Gala on Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Renaissance Hotel in Downtown Cincinnati beginning at 5:30 p.m. Learn more and register here.
The Marjorie P. Lee Master Plan
This summer, we’re opening the Shaw building at Marjorie P. Lee in Hyde Park, featuring renovations to the Tom Craig Lobby and our state-of-the-art Meyer Family Rehabilitation Center and short-term rehab studios.
We’ll also be celebrating the completion of the $4.25 million Marjorie P. Lee Capital Campaign, made possible by the generous support of hundreds of donors, that helped to fund the $20 million master plan renovation. Learn more about the Marjorie P. Lee Master Plan here.
Dementia-Inclusive Cincinnati
Cincinnati’s Kennedy Heights neighborhood and other regional community partners have joined us in launching our dementia-inclusive Cincinnati initiative. We’re working diligently to expand our efforts to support the caregivers of those living with Alzheimer’s or dementia with the goal of making Cincinnati the most dementia-inclusive city in the country.
Learn more about how we believe Cincinnati can become a more dementia- and age-inclusive city here.
New Ventures
Our senior leadership and board have developed a strategy to stay ahead of an increasing demand on funds to provide services to our affordable living seniors. A team of experts has begun to develop a for-profit enterprise solution to fund these crucial services, and this year, we’ll evaluate several business models. We’re excited to use innovation and new ventures to solve this funding challenge.
A Farewell to Our Longtime CFO
Finally, we can’t celebrate our accomplishments in 2017 without recognizing our longtime chief financial officer, Paul Scheper, who retired in June after 36 years. Paul oversaw the funding of 25 of our Affordable Living communities and helped us grow from serving 200 low-income seniors to more than 2,000. His many accomplishments earned him the CFO of the Year award from the Cincinnati Business Courier.
“Paul had a gift of being a talented financial leader, and really having a heart for our mission. Paul had the people we serve, both residents and staff, as our top priority,” said Ginny Uehlin, Vice President, Residential Housing and Healthcare for ERS. “He taught me every day what it means to be a true servant leader.”
“Over his career, Paul has exemplified the fundamentals of good decision-making, creativity when faced with complex problems, and staying true to oneself during challenging times,” said Laura Lamb. “We surely wouldn’t be where we are today without Paul.”
You can find more details on our 2017 annual report in the Spring 2018 issue of Linkage, available here. With the success of 2017, we at ERS are confident that we’ll continue to grow our communities, programs and services for seniors in 2018 and beyond.
