Serving All Area Seniors.

From the Staff of Franke Tobey Jones Retirement Estates, Tacoma, Washington

Adapted from a 1998 AASHA Community Service Award Nomination

Franke Tobey Jones Retirement Estates has enjoyed a 75-year history of serving seniors in Tacoma, Wash., as one of the oldest retirement communities in the state. In March of 1998, the 165-resident CCRC took over operations of the financially threatened neighboring Point Defiance/Ruston Senior Center. Through the combined efforts of the Estates and the Center, more seniors in the community are being reached through an expansion of existing programs and the development of additional services. Our Senior Wellness Program has been expanded into the greater community, and plans are under way to launch additional community outreach programs.

We have enjoyed a long-standing reputation within the Tacoma community for providing quality care to seniors. The home was founded in 1924 on philanthropic principles to provide such care to seniors of "culture and modest means." Three-quarters of a century later, the mission of the home continues to do just that.

A volunteer Board of Directors made up of active community members governs Franke Tobey Jones. In 1997, it became the intention of the Board to expand this mission to the community through greater social accountability and involvement with the Tacoma area.

In October of that same year, a request for a proposal fell into our laps from the City of Tacoma. The local Senior Center was threatened with closure. Their operating agency had discontinued support and left the Senior Center without a funding source.

The Point Defiance/Ruston Senior Center was started in 1978 by Catholic Community Services (CCS) after assessing the needs of older persons in the neighborhood adjacent to the North-End CCS office, including Ruston. Beginning with about a dozen seniors, the program had grown to 100 seniors when in it moved to the VFW Hall in 1980. By the end of 1988, the Center had moved to Bethany Presbyterian Church for more flexible space and was then serving 488 seniors. In January 1991, the Center entered into a facility agreement with the City of Tacoma and moved to its present location. As of June 30, 1997, CCS no longer funded the Senior Center, and the city covered expenses until a new nonprofit operating agency could be found.

Ed Mawe, executive director of Franke Tobey Jones, took the RFP to the Board of Directors for discussion. It was unanimously approved to proceed with the proposal to take over operations of the Center. Just before Christmas 1997, we received the Senior Care Center as a gift. The Board, staff, residents and family members were elated, not to mention the warm thoughts of salvation that came from the Senior Center's nearly 1,000 unduplicated annual membership. Mawe described the union as a "match made in heaven."

Franke Tobey Jones became the new operating agency for the Center on March 1, 1998. The City of Tacoma provides the building and maintenance for the Center, and the Center is a nonprofit, multipurpose program under the umbrella of Franke Tobey Jones, a private operating foundation. Levels of senior participation and other community support continue to grow.

The first year of operations was a financial investment worth every penny. Plans for optional funding sources, along with participation and donations soon followed. Our combined human resources at the Estates and the Center have afforded many opportunities that the Center could not have managed on its own. For example, our Senior Wellness Program has expanded to the Senior Center. Primarily consisting of physical activities with a personal trainer, it is well received and growing as we continue to improve the quality of life for our senior community.

Communication with the community has strengthened, and public awareness of Franke Tobey Jones and the Senior Center has increased. Franke Tobey Jones had been challenged by an image of serving the wealthy, and this operation has helped greatly in dispelling that reputation. Nearly 40 percent of the Center's membership is below the poverty level.

The director of the Senior Center, Middy Ewert, is responsible for coordinating services with various service providers, program development and volunteer supervision. A part-time office assistant helps with a variety of clerical tasks. The American Red Cross employs a nutrition specialist to supervise the meal site, which serves hot meals four days per week. Approximately 55 volunteers serve some 500 hours each month. The Senior Council meets monthly to assist in planning and evaluating programs. A "Friends of the Senior Center" board, consisting often members from the community (including three seniors) also meets monthly to plan fund raising and visibility in the community.

The Center's mission is to deliver quality programs and services that promote growth and independence among older adults. Services scheduled include education, recreation, socialization, health/wellness, nutrition, and outreach information and referral. Examples of our most active programs include a bridge group, pinochle group and a choir that performs in various locations two to three times per month.

The Center also provides services in conjunction with other agencies. These cooperative relationships help bring much-needed services to the seniors in our community in a location that is familiar and convenient, and at a reasonable cost. The union with Franke Tobey Jones has also provided additional resources in staffing, services, programs and shared expenses. Both facilities benefit from the arrangement; the seniors in residence as well as in the community reap the rewards. Many Franke Tobey Jones residents participate in the Center's activities and trips. They also volunteer at the Center, which serves seniors 55 and older, practices a nondiscrimination policy and is open five days a week for five hours a day.

A recent survey of the Tacoma community put out by the United Way of Pierce County showed two trends: that the elderly population is increasing, along with how long they are living in their own homes. Eighty-three percent of the community identified programs to prevent disease and injury as one of the top 20 important needs. Our Senior Wellness Program addresses these needs. Service providers reported that isolation of seniors is a major problem. Seventy-one percent of the respondents see programs to prevent isolation of older adults as important and recognized the growing need for more community-based services for the elderly. The Senior Center is serving these needs and expanding programs continuously.

Franke Tobey Jones plans for the Center to serve as a springboard from which to launch further community outreach programs to seniors at home. We look forward to a long and healthy relationship with the Senior Center well into the future.