July 7, 2010
Staff, Residents Mark Occasion with Donation back to its Roots – Harbor House
Peabody Manor will look to its roots this week to mark its 10th anniversary at its current location. On July 8 the skilled nursing community will donate more than $2,000 and a collection of needed items to the Harbor House domestic abuse shelter, which is housed in the former Peabody Manor location at 720 W. Fifth St.
Peabody Manor’s anniversary also coincides with the 25th anniversary of The Heritage and 15th anniversary of its assisted living facility. Staff and residents chose to celebrate by giving back.
“We asked, ‘How can we give back to the community and not just ourselves?’” said Renee Schubart, executive director of The Heritage and Peabody Manor Community. “We thought since Peabody has been here for 10 years and our whole facility wants to give back to the community, we’d give back to the group in our old building.”
Peabody Manor and Harbor House’s connection goes back a decade, when Harbor House found itself in need of a home after a fire burned its original building in November 1998. It was just months after Peabody Manor merged with ThedaCare (then United Health). When Peabody moved to its new location on Heritage Woods Drive in 2000, it offered Harbor House a permanent new home in its old building.
Harbor House staff still feel a connection to George F. Peabody, the local merchant and philanthropist whose generous bequest was used to build the original structure and open a haven for retired women to “age-in-place.”
“We want to continue to foster that connection,” Schubart said. “Now that it houses the Harbor House, the original site is still taking care of women, with different needs.”
The Heritage and Peabody Community participated in numerous events and activities to raise funds for Harbor House. Events included a bucket raffle, a black-tie dinner for residents, a cookout and a root beer float party. During another celebration, staff and residents donated $1 to loft cream pies at Schubart and other managers at The Heritage and Peabody Manor Community. It brought in $100.
Together, the staff raised more than $2,000. That includes a $1,000 matching donation from the Peabody Foundation Board. Staff also collected six boxes of needed items, such as hygiene products, kitchenware, laundry baskets and clothing.
The Heritage and Peabody Manor Community staff, along with some of its residents, will present the donations to Harbor House Thursday morning. They will also tour the Fifth Street building, which Harbor House renovated in 2000 to help meet the growing demands for shelter, to expand existing services and to develop new programs.
MEDIA IS INVITED TO ATTEND; THE BUS LEAVES AT 9 AM. PLEASE RSVP TO MEGAN WILCOX, THEDACARE CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST.
Deborah Campbell, RN with Peabody Manor since 1994, said it seems like Peabody Manor moved just yesterday. She remembers helping residents to communal dinners on the main floor of their old location, then a three-tiered building that housed independent residents on the first two floors, with more critical nursing care patients on the third. There had been little room outdoors for residents to walk or visit, though, in the bustling downtown area. “It was challenging being in the old building with three different floors, especially with the elderly,” Campbell said. “But it worked.”
In addition to providing a new home for Harbor House, Peabody Manor’s relocation to Heritage Woods Drive proved a great fit for the skilled nursing care facility.
“It allows the patients here to feel more part of the outdoors just because of the physical layout of the building; it’s all one story, and the windows are low to the ground so even if you’re in a wheelchair you can see out,” Campbell said. “It feels like home.”
The Heritage also saw a large-scale renovation of its therapy department in 2010. It reopened this summer with more than quadrupled clinic space, increased privacy, and more amenities for residents and patients.
The Heritage and Peabody Manor Community, which is part of the ThedaCare family, offers many choices for senior living and provides services that are customized, based on need. Located on 34 beautifully wooded acres, this continuing care community integrates independent living with supportive care, rehabilitation services, and skilled nursing care. The Heritage features many amenities including a library, coffee shop, computer lab, ground-level garages, emergency response system, and various healthcare service options that can be accessed when needed. Peabody Manor is a not-for-profit skilled nursing facility that incorporates a state-of-the-art short term rehab unit and skilled nursing home, as well as inpatient and outpatient therapy services.
ThedaCare (www.thedacare.org) is a community-owned health system consisting of Appleton Medical Center, Theda Clark Medical Center, New London Family Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca, ThedaCare Physicians, and other health care services. ThedaCare is the largest employer in Northeast Wisconsin with nearly 5,400 employees.
For more information, media may contact Megan Wilcox (megan.wilcox@thedacare.org), corporate and public relations specialist for ThedaCare, at (920) 830-5847.