• Manual of Procedure
• Interchange, Fall 2008
• Interchange, Spring 2008
• Interchange, Fall 2007
• Advance Report - 2007
• Interchange, Spring 2007
• Interchange, Fall 2006
• Interchange, Spring 2006
• Interchange, Fall 2005
• Advance Report - 2005
• Interchange, Summer 2005
• Interchange, Spring 2005
   
• Interchange, December 2004
• Interchange, September 2004

The Board of Trustees of Friends House, Inc. consists of 12 members nominated by the Nominating Committee and appointed by the Yearly Meeting, four each year for three-year terms, plus seven members nominated by the Board of Trustees of Friends House, Inc. and also appointed by the Yearly Meeting for three-year terms, two each year in two years and three the following year. These appointments are to begin with the Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees next after the Yearly Meeting sessions which made the appointment. A person may serve no more than two consecutive terms. All trustees are selected from the members of the Religious Society of Friends.

Trustees attend meetings, conduct business, and help keep the Yearly Meeting informed of the work of the Board in operating a retirement home near Sandy Spring, Maryland.

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Manual of Procedure, July 2004, p25

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Karen Lehman was appointed Executive Director of Friends House in June. She comes to us with a wealth of experience. She was Regional Director of Operations for Brookdale Senior Living, a national for-profit owner and operator of senior living communities throughout the United States and a leading national provider of senior-related services. Karen managed all of the Brookdale properties in Indiana. Previous to that she worked at Greencroft Retirement Community as the Vice President of Operations and COO, also in Indiana. Before her work with Retirement Communities and Senior Living, Karen’s work experience includes working at Massachusetts General Hospital and several other acute care settings in Administration.

Karen is one of six children born into an Amish community in LaGrange County, Indiana, where the family lived until she was six years old. She received her BA degree in Health Information Management from Indiana University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Bluffton University in Ohio. Today, Karen is a member of the Mennonite church. Her husband, Kent Beck, is the Director of Admissions for the upper school of Sandy Spring Friends School.

Their four children, three sons and a daughter are widely scattered, living in the United States, Canada and Panama. Their oldest son was recently married and lives in South Carolina.

Her interest in applying for the position at Friends House was mostly due to the not-for-profit and faith based status of the organization. She is also interested in working in a community offering living facilities for people of all income levels, including housing for middle and low income seniors.

Karen is getting acquainted with the residents; and they, with her. She has attended many association committee meetings and even takes her compost to the community garden! Our new Executive Director enthusiastically looks forward to working with Baltimore Yearly Meeting and the Friends House Board as plans are made for the future of our facility.

100% of Friends Nursing Home Families Would Recommend Friends to Others

When considering a nursing home for your spouse or your parents, how would you like to be able to interview the spouses and children of current residents of that nursing home? What questions would you want to ask? Does the resident get medication on time? Is there enough staff on all shifts to provide sufficient help? Are the hallways and public areas kept odor free? Does the staff treat the residents with dignity?

In the fall of 2007, The Maryland Health Care Commission conducted a research survey to measure the satisfaction of family members of residents in Maryland’s long-term care facilities. Among 224 Maryland nursing homes, Friends House nursing home ranked high in family satisfaction. The highlights of the 2007 study showed that Friends Nursing Home:

• had an overall satisfaction score of 9.5 (on a scale of 1 to 10). The statewide average score for overall satisfaction was 8.1
• received a rating of 9.5 for the overall care received in the nursing home. . .the statewide average score for the overall care received is 8.2
• 100% of family members would recommend the nursing home to friends. Statewide, only 88% of all respondents would be so enthusiastic

A total of 224 nursing homes throughout Maryland participated in the 2007 research study. A total of 9,575 eligible respondents returned a survey. The overall response rate for all facilities was 58.4%. For Friends Nursing Home, surveys were mailed to74 responsible parties. A total of 52 surveys were returned for a response rate of 71.2.

How did the Friends Nursing Home ratings compare to the other 224 nursing homes in Maryland and the ratings of its peer group members in overall family satisfaction? A four-point scale ranging from 4 (always) to 1 (never) was used for family members to respond. Friends Nursing Home received the following ratings from its family members: staff and administration (3.7), care provided to residents (3.7), assistance during mealtime (3.8), quality and variety of food (3.4), activities available to residents (3.5), autonomy and resident rights (3.5) and physical aspects of the nursing home (3.8). Each of these scores was higher than the average ratings received by nursing homes statewide, by those in Montgomery County, and by non-profit and profit nursing homes.

Nick Mason, the administrator of Friends Nursing Home (and birthright Friend), credited his staff’s experience and caring for the outstanding ratings in family satisfaction. He expressed thanks for the financial support of members of Baltimore Yearly Meeting over the years. This support for the construction of buildings has meant less expense for building construction and loan interest, enabling us to attract good long-term employees and to provide outstanding staff development and in-service training programs, resulting in exceptional care.

For a brief summary of the 2007 nursing home report, contact Richard Barnes, Director of Advancement and Development, Friends House Retirement Community, 17340 Quaker Lane, Sandy Spring, MD 20860, by phone 301.924.5100, or by emailing caringcampagn@comcast.net

Friends House is a non-profit retirement community under the care of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Located in Sandy Spring, Maryland on sixty-two partially wooded and gently rolling acres, it is committed to providing housing and services to seniors with a wide range of financial resources.

Friends House Retirement Community became a reality in 1967, after more than twenty years of spiritual discernment and planning by a small group of Quakers in the Washington area. It had its beginnings in 1946 when the Friends Meeting of Washington made a commitment to begin a Quaker ministry to the aging. Two years later, after being joined by Alexandria and Baltimore, Homewood Meetings, Friends House was incorporated as a non-profit organization to establish and maintain a home for the elderly.

In 1961 the Baltimore Yearly Meeting endorsed the plans and began to sponsor the project. By the mid 1960’s, Quaker Monthly Meetings from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia were promoting the project.

Since the 1967 construction of twenty-five apartments for low to moderate income elderly, it has continued growing and now serves 250 seniors in 100 apartments for low and moderate income seniors, 32 Cottages with higher monthly fees, 58 residents in Stabler Hall Nursing Home, 24 residents in the Haviland Hall assisted living center, and 24 residents in Thomas Hall, the new dementia care center.

Today, Baltimore Yearly Meeting continues to be an important ministry to the aging, assuring a quality retirement community to seniors of all income levels. In a 2006 survey of BYM households, 95% of the respondents said that it was very important (74%), or somewhat important (21%) that Friends House Retirement Community continue its mission of providing housing for Friends of all income levels.

This fall, we will be making a special 40th Anniversary appeal asking all BYM Friends to consider joining us in our ministry of assuring that Friends House remains an inclusive community that doesn’t “screen out” the many Friends who cannot afford to live in most other Quaker retirement communities. To continue to provide retirement housing for low income Quakers in the next decade, we will need a substantial increase in donations to our Residents Assistance Fund.

To celebrate Friends House’s 40 years of service, we want to invite all BYM Friends to attend an Open House on Sunday, October 7 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in the Miller Center at Friends House Retirement Community, 17340 Quaker Lane, Sandy Spring, MD 20860. For more information, call 301.924.5100.

During the last year Friends House Retirement Community and its residents has continued to redefine retirement living. Gone are the stereotypes of seniors pining away the hours nestled in a tawny rocking chair. Friends House is and continues to be a special place of community, nurtured through the collectiveness of the caring - empowered through sharing one with another.

One of the most unique aspects of Friends House is the large number of Friends that call Friends House home. While the percent of Friends in most Friends’ Retirement Communities averages around 5-10%, the current percent of Friends at Friends House is around 50% of our 250 residents. The sheer number of Friends at Friends House, probably makes this community one of the largest Friends communities in North America. The very foundation of all that is best about our community’s friendly character can be attributed to this fact and is the magnet that attracts Friends and non-Friends alike.

Within the next few months, Friends House will have completed licensure as a Maryland Certified Continuing Care Retirement Community. This certification will make Friends House one of the first C.C.R.C.’s (Continuing Care Retirement Communities) in the nation serving low-moderate incomed elders in addition to seniors of higher incomes. Additionally, this certification affirms Friends Houses’ transition over the last 40 years from initially a stand alone apartment program for the well elderly, to a comprehensive continuing care facility for elderly regardless of their housing and care needs.

I am happy to announce that during the last 12 months our nursing home care program has had an occupancy level of over 98%, during a time when the State of Maryland nursing home average was 89%. This extremely high occupancy rate is affirmation of the quality of care provided to our residents, and our reputation among others in our ministry. In fact, the average occupancy rate of our nursing care program, over the last ten year period, exceeds 98.2%.

Since last year, Friends House, through the generosity of Baltimore Yearly Meeting members and meetings, has been able to provide direct financial assistant to 32% of residents in our low-moderate income housing program – many of who are Friends who dedicated their lives in service to Friends and Friends’ concerns. The amount of financial assistance provided during the last year was $94,668.51.

In closing, I am happy to announce that Friends House Retirement Community will be celebrating its 40th year of service to Friends. You are cordially invited to join us for this celebration of ministry on Sunday, October 7, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. in the dining room. This moment would have never been reached had it not been for the vision and faithful support of Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Please continue to hold us in the light as we look forward to our 50th year of service to seniors.

Darryl Clemmer, Executive Director

BYM Friends Value Community, Economic Diversity In Retirement

For Friends in Baltimore Yearly Meeting, one of the most important features of an ideal place to live as a senior citizen is in community with other Friends. In a survey conducted last summer, more than half (53%) of respondents said that it was “very important” for “BYM Friends to have a place to retire together.” When those who indicated this was “somewhat important” are added in, the proportion rises to 95% of respondents. The survey, conducted by Friends House Retirement Community, went to 3,850 households within BYM. Some 470 Friends responded.

Asked to rank the things that they consider important in a retirement community, all survey respondents named living in a community with Friends values as one of their top three choices. Being in a community with low- to moderate-income housing was the second most popular consideration. Having a continuum of care - from independent living through skilled nursing - at the same location ranked third, closely followed by having family members and friends nearby.

Friends House, a retirement community and nursing home under the care of BYM and located in Sandy Spring, MD, conducted the survey to help guide its own long-range planning. It’s particularly gratifying to see that what Friends most value is exactly what Friends House is providing, notes Diane Younkins, clerk of the Friends House Board’s Long-Range Planning Committee. “Friends House is unique, even among Quaker institutions,” she explains. “We have maintained a high level of Quaker involvement in our community while also carrying out our commitment to provide quality housing and care for low- and moderate-income seniors. If I wasn’t a Quaker, I’d say I was very proud of that.”

Younkins notes that middle-aged adults responding to the survey placed the same high value on having a place to retire with other Friends with low- to moderate- income housing as did more senior respondents. “Our challenge is to adapt Friends House to the next generation’s needs so that it is their own – not just the place where their parents went,” she says.

As the Baby Boomer generation approaches retirement, the need for facilities like those at Friends House may grow well beyond Friends House’s capacity. It may be time for Friends within the Yearly Meeting to begin think about additional residential retirement communities for other parts of the Yearly Meeting.

The Friends House Board thanks everyone who took the time to answer the survey. The response rate – 12.2% — is an excellent response.

There is the real possibility that sometime in your life you will be called upon to assist a relative in finding a nursing home with a loving staff and outstanding care. When considering a nursing home, how would you like to be able to interview the spouses and children of current residents of that nursing home? What questions would you want to ask?— Does the resident get medication on time? Is there enough staff on all shifts to provide sufficient help? Are the hallways and public areas kept odor free?

By their answers to these types of questions, family members of residents at Friends House Nursing Home in Sandy Spring, MD are very pleased with the respect and care that residents receive. On a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied), family members ranked Friends House Nursing Home’s overall care at 4.53. That’s considerably better than the overall statewide average of 4.00, the average rating for all not-for-profit nursing homes at 4.17 or the for-profit nursing home score of 3.88.These ratings are from the 2006 Nursing Home Family Satisfaction Survey Report of 222 nursing homes conducted by the Maryland Health Care Commission.

“We are extremely pleased with the ratings we received on this survey of family members,” says Darryl Clemmer, executive director of the Friends House Retirement Community. “It’s the kind of response we’ve worked hard to obtain through a high staff-to-resident ratio, a low rate of staff turnover, and an outstanding in-service training program. It is a real tribute to the staff and the board of Friends House. We also want to thank our many financial supporters within Baltimore Yearly Meeting.”

Fifty-six families responded to the nursing home survey, which included questions on many aspects of care. Friends House Nursing Home received the following ratings: for administrative and personal care staff—4.35; for the maintenance and cleanliness of the facilities—4.50; for planned social activities—4.00; for personal care services—4.41; for food and meals—3.91; and for residents’ personal rights—4.35. In each category, the Friends House results significantly exceeded the average ratings for the 222 Maryland nursing homes included in the survey.

Comments from family members support the survey’s findings. “Having my mom at Friends House has greatly eased my mind in knowing that she is in a safe environment where she receives excellent care,” says the daughter of a resident. “The atmosphere at Friends is that of a big family rather than that of an impersonal facility. We feel blessed that she is a resident there.” Another resident’s daughter extolled the virtues of Stabler Hall. “The staff at the Friends Nursing Home are the most professional, caring, and superb group of people. I have had personal experience with two previous nursing homes, and Friends has been a Godsend to me and my mother… . They keep me up-to-date on my mother’s health and condition. They are also very responsive to the concerns I have about her care.”

A family member of another resident mentioned the wonderful support given to nursing home residents by residents of the surrounding Friends House Retirement Community. “After my parents moved to an apartment in the retirement community, my father was also in the nursing home for his last years. The independent retirement community members are attentive to and help with the nursing home residents. Forty cards came from them to my mother on her birthday! The staff encourages this. They are skilled, dedicated, involved, and patient with some very difficult residents. I have the highest regard for them!”

Darryl Clemmer, Friends House Executive Director, will be glad to give a presentation at your Friends meeting on “Looking Ahead: Long-term Care Planning for You and Your Family.” To inquire about a meeting presentation or to receive a brief summary of the nursing home family satisfaction survey research report, please contact Richard Barnes, Director of Advancement and Development, Friends House Retirement Community, 17340 Quaker Lane, Sandy Spring, MD 20860, phone 301.924.5100, email FriendsHouse@sylvania.org.

Friends House - Isn't That For Wealthy Quakers?

"I looked at six or seven Quaker retirement communities and this is the only one that I could have afforded. Instead of dreading old age, I find I am rejoicing in it! What a wealth of experience the residents of this community bring to me. I am so happy to be living in a community where material possessions are not a symbol of worth, but integrity, honesty, friendliness, faith, courage and hope are the symbols. I just wish every elder could be as fortunate as me." These are the words of Clare Sinclair, a Quaker activist from Montana, whose only income is her small Social Security monthly payment. Contributions of hundreds of donors to our Resident Assistance Fund make it possible for Clare to live at Friends House.

Friends House is a non-profit retirement community under the care of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Located in Sandy Spring, Maryland on sixty-two partially wooded and gently rolling acres, it is committed to providing housing and services to seniors with a wide range of financial resources. Since the 1967 construction of twenty-five apartments for low to moderate income elderly, it has continued growing and now serves 240 seniors in a continuum of care. Because of our Residents Assistance Fund, no residents in our one hundred low and moderate income housing apartments have had to leave Friends House because of their inability to pay their fees since Friends House was founded in 19G7.

However, there are certain challenges facing Friends House today. A growing number of low and moderate income residents is increasing the need for non-government, donor supported financial assistance. Since the founding of Friends House in 1967, the cost of heating, electricity, food, insurance and maintenance have increased dramatically while HUD federal subsidies for low and moderate income independent living housing have leveled off and will be totally phased out in 2016.

There is an increasing need for financial assistance for rent subsidies and medical costs not covered by Medicare--medications, eyeglasses, dental care, and hearing aids. Federal and state funding of medical assistance for low-income seniors is expected to significantly decline for the foreseeable future.

Over 50% of our residents are Friends, the highest ratio we are aware of for any such facility in the country. Approximately one-half of these Friends living in independent living or in the nursing home receive rent subsidy or medical assistance. Twenty percent of Friends House apartment residents receive over $100,000 in direct financial assistance each year from Friends House. Of those receiving assistance, 72% are Quakers, many of whom have dedicated their lives to Friends service.

If you would like to find out more about Friends House or how you can make a contribution to Friends House, please contact Richard Barnes, Director of Advancement and Development, Friends House Retirement Community, 17340 Quaker Lane, Sandy Spring, MD 20860, call 540.290.0476, or email FriendsHouse@sylvania.org.

Are you considering options for retirement living? Do you currently live in an apartment building or suburban neighborhood where no one knows anyone else? Do you have parents or loved ones who can no longer keep up a large home? Have you always wanted to live in a Quaker community? Perhaps you should consider Friends House.

Friends House was founded by Friends as a non-profit retirement community in 1967 in Sandy Spring, Maryland on sixty-two partially wooded and gently rolling acres. Operating under the care of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Friends House has throughout its history maintained a deep and longstanding commitment to serving the elderly within the Religious Society of Friends. Today, it is a comprehensive community providing a continuum of retirement living options including 100 federally subsidized apartments for low and moderate income seniors, 32 spacious cottages for Friends of all income levels. In addition to the independent retirement community, there is Haviland Hall, a 20 room assisted living facility and Stabler Hall, a 62 bed skilled nursing home facility, including the new Thomas Hall, a 24-bed, skilled nursing unit for residents who are mobile and active, but who are suffering dementia and mental confusion caused by Alzheimer’s, stroke, or other diseases.

Why should you consider Friends House? We recently asked residents why they came to Friends House. Elayne McClanen of Sandy Spring Friends Meeting said “A now deceased resident said to me, ‘You’d better see this place.’ The palatable commitment to peace permeates at Friends House. I was moved by the simple, yet gracious ambiance, from the homegrown flower arrangements to the pleasing art on the walls. The residents are strikingly “alive”. Although they may be dealing with infirmities, they generously assist and care for one another, and in a larger sense, they assist and care for the planet through action.”

Ruth Stern is one of many Friends who moved here from New York Yearly Meeting. “My husband (Lee, now deceased) and I were very impressed by the friendly, informal atmosphere, and the very active participation of residents. It feels like a large family, rather than an institution. It’s also affordable for people like ourselves who worked for non-profits all of our working years.” Wendell and Gudren Williams, formerly members of Richmond Friends Meeting, explained that “we wanted to come while we were “young enough” to adjust and be active in the community. The small size and affordability of Friends House were both attractive as well as its Quaker auspices.”

“I came for an overnight visit, and put my name on the waiting list immediately. At 65, I was aware that I would be one of the youngest residents, but when I saw a copy of The Nation, a progressive magazine, on the library table, I knew my neighbors would not be a bunch of old fogies,” said Pat Weiss, a former member of Friends Meeting of Washington, “I like the fact that Friends House is well maintained, and the long windows in each apartment, and a patio with an outside door was also appealing. I liked the people I met. It is a continuing pleasure to live at Friends House.”

For someone looking at different retirement living options, what are the most important things to consider? Are all of the units on the ground floor with your own patio entrance? Can you still enjoy flower and vegetable gardening? Are there acres of grounds and places to take long walks? If your spouse needs special care can you easily walk to visit them each day in the assisted living center or have lunch with them in the nursing home? Is there a Friends Meeting in the community and are there spiritual formation groups, book discussion groups and social action groups to join? Is there inexpensive transportation to museums, art exhibits, and theatres? For Quaker Shirley Runde, “It’s the caring attitude on the part of the staff, as well as a great friendliness. Do the residents seem happy and active? Is there a variety of kinds of opportunities for participation? Are they concerned for the environment, as well as for the incomes of the residents? Are all independent living apartments on one floor? Is there opportunity for continuing care?” Barbara Scott, Sandy Spring Friends Meeting added, “Of course, we must consider the price. For me, the architecture of the place is perfect—one story. No elevators, no noise or walkers above. Ability to walk to meals without going out in the rain, snow and ice!

What is the best part about living at Friends House? Lu Trundle of Sandy Spring Friends Meeting didn’t hesitate, “For me the best part is the out-of-doors. I have a vegetable garden plot. Before and after dinner, I go sit on one of the many benches around the 65 acres of space. I face the woods and open lawn area. I watch birds, butterflies, geese and other wildlife.” Then almost as an afterthought, “The staff are superb!” Presbyterian Rosemary Guthrie added, “I can find ways of being useful, such as driving for the free-ride program and shopping for the country store. It is important to me to feel useful. The programs; concerts and church services are great—even art exhibits and flowers.”

In response to FCNL, Sierra Club, or MoveOn.Org requests, you can frequently observe a group of residents sitting in the dining room writing letters to Congress. For Clair Inglis of Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting, “the best part of living at Friends House is the feeling of community—like an extended family. Another is the volunteer work which makes you feel like you are needed to help run the place. My children are impressed with the activism going on here among “old people”, like visiting our representatives and senators, or standing on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Rt. 108 with placards protesting the war.”

Like the old fashioned neighborhoods where friends would gather for spontaneous chat on the front porch, the community dining room coffee pot is an opportunity for residents to expound on the issues of the day, to share their joys and sorrows, and get to know another. You will often find Friends Jack and Peggy Fogerty there. “All the new and old friends, being able to socialize in the dining room around the free coffee pot any time during the day, walking immediately into the library upon arrival is very affirmative. You think of active people who read.” Also like the old fashioned neighborhoods, Friends House has wooded trails and paved walkways and roads. You will often observe Jack and Peggy on their daily walks. “The campus and the woods are beautiful and there are plenty of places to walk.”

Should you be considering Friends House for your parents, for someone in your Friends Meeting, or perhaps yourself? We welcome day visitors and have a guest apartment for overnight visitors. If you would like additional information or if you would like to have a tour of the community, please contact Mary Cozad, Resident Director, at 301.924.7523. If you would like to have a presentation on Friends House at your Friends Meeting, please contact Darryl Clemmer, Executive Director at 301.924.7528.

During the last year Friends House Retirement Community has been substantially focused on the completion and opening of Thomas Hall, a new state-of-the-art Alzheimer's-Dementia Care Center. We are happy to announce that on Saturday, May 14, Friends House Retirement Community celebrated the opening of Thomas Hall. More than 150 celebrants, some third and fourth generation residents of the historic Sandy Spring area community, Friends House Community, and Baltimore Yearly Meeting, gathered for the official dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Center named Thomas Hall, honors the heart-felt commitment made by the Thomas Family to the community and this special building project. In many ways it was a celebration of community, a family reunion, as much as it was a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Other supporters and dedication features of the Center include: Derrick House, Ligon House, The Sandy Spring Bank Heritage Walkway, the Lansdale Courtyard, and a number of other dedicated family and quiet rooms.

Unique features of the Center include the Derrick and Ligon Houses, designed with family kitchens and living rooms. Looped pathways, quiet rooms, line-of-sight nursing stations, and large ceiling-to-floor windows are additional features. New technologies incorporated in the Hall will allow family and friends to see and communicate with residents from any computer with a high speed internet connection. These same technologies will allow nursing staff to monitor residents in their rooms such that care can be provided when residents are unable to notify staff of their needs. The Lansdale Courtyard is an open courtyard garden, featuring seasonal plants, flowers and shrubs, a pergola, benches, and growing boxes along the Sandy Spring Heritage Walkway. The looped pathways surround the garden providing residents with the opportunity for exercise, in fresh air, in natural sunlight and in a secure garden setting.

The Center is just one phase of a $2.5 Million Community of Caring Campaign envisioned by the Friends House Community a little over two years ago, addressing the growing community need for specialized Alzheimer's-Dementia Care. Another phase of the Campaign, under construction, is the total renovation of Haviland Hall into 23 assisted living units --19 of which are private rooms and 2 double rooms for couples.

Before inviting celebrants in to view Thomas Hall, John Smallwood, Clerk of the Friends House Board, said, "This is a special moment in our ministry. Today the broader community can take pride in affirming that Sandy Spring is truly a community built through caring."

With the addition of the Thomas Hall dementia facility for skilled nursing home residents and the conversion of Haviland Hall to an assisted living facility Friends House has become one of the few senior care communities in the nation that can provide a full continuum of care to low and moderate incomed seniors.

We are warmly thankful for the holistic support of the members of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting in the expansion of our ministry services and ask that you continue to hold our mission in the light as we continue to serve seniors in the autumn and winter of their lives.

Darryl Clemmer, Executive Director

Chuck Harker received an e-mail from a soldier in Iraq, Captain Gerard Dolan of the 67th Combat Support Hospital, seeking school supplies for a school in Mosul. Residents sent large boxes of supplies and Sandy Springs Friends Meeting’s Peace Committee has joined the effort.

Mondays, residents sew baby gowns for American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) project to meet needs in war-torn parts of our world. Residents also knit colorful squares that are made into blankets and Afghans that AFSC ships throughout the world. Many residents joined Sarah Knowlton in assembling kits of soap, washcloths and towels for victims of the great tsunami tragedy. Betty Renshaw headed a fund-raiser for AFSC’s relief work for these victims. Each month residents contribute non-perishable food items to the “OLNEY HELP BOX.”.

During the week of the inauguration, several residents helped set up and pack AFSC’s project “With Eyes Wide Open.” The project displayed 1,365 pairs of combat boots signifying the US soldiers killed in Iraq and other shoes representing some 100,000 Iraqis killed in this war.

Clare Sinclair

Dementia Special Care Center Opens at Friends House

The New Dementia Special Care Center at Friends House will have opened by the time you read this. Features include looped walking pathways, designed to help dementia patients walk without becoming confused, and electronic bedside patient monitoring. The Center will feature a courtyard providing natural light and space for healing gardens and grow boxes. Official dedication is scheduled for May 14, at 3:00 p.m. in Thomas Hall at the Special Care Center.

Construction of the $2 million project began over a year ago. The Center is part of a $2.5 million Community of Caring Campaign conducted by Friends House, and made possible by resident and community donors to address the needs of our rapidly growing elderly population. The campaign will enhance the residence assistance fund, expand staff development and training, enhance the existing skilled nursing home, and convert part of the nursing home to assisted living.

For further information contact: Darryl Clemmer, Executive Director, Friends House Retirement Community, 17340 Quaker Lane, Sandy Spring, MD 20860. Phone: (301) 924-5100.

There is a new face around Friends House. Susan Kaul, from Earlham School of Religion (ESR), is doing an "academic year" of Field Education here. Susan lives in Bethesda, Maryland, where she is a member of Bethesda Meeting. She is also a member of the "pioneer class" of ESR's Access distance-learning program. While taking classes "on-line," she also travels to Richmond, Indiana; Greensboro, North Carolina; and West Hartford, Connecticut to attend two-week Intensive Classes.

Besides visiting with residents in Stabler and Haviland Halls, Susan hopes to lead some workshops this winter for the folks living in the apartments. She is very open to ideas residents may have for interesting topics and has come up with a few ideas of her own: Book Discussions of Quaker books, such as George Fox Book of Miracles (edited by Henry Cadbury), Michael Birkel's Silence and Witness: The Quaker Tradition, or other books residents may suggest. She is also currently working to put together a three-session workshop titled: "Matching Types of Prayers with Types of Prayers."

Friends House: BYM's Ministry to the Aging

Friends in Baltimore Yearly Meeting rightfully take great pride in our camping program. But very few Friends know that BYM also provides a substantial ministry to our elderly. Friends House was founded by Friends as a non-profit retirement community in 1967 in Sandy Spring, Maryland on sixty-two partially wooded and gently rolling acres. Operating under the care of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Friends House has throughout its history maintained a deep and longstanding commitment to serving the elderly within the Religious Society of Friends:

1. over 50% of our residents are Friends, the highest ratio we are aware of for any such facility in the country;
2. approximately one-half of these Friends living in independent living or in the nursing home receive rent subsidy or medical assistance;
3. twenty percent of Friends House apartment residents receive over $100,000 in direct financial assistance each year from Friends House. Of those receiving assistance, 72% are Quakers, many of whom have dedicated their lives to Friends service;
4. today, Baltimore Yearly Meeting appoints twelve members of the Friends House Board and approves all nineteen board members. It continues to be an important BYM ministry to the aging, assuring a quality Quaker retirement community to all Friends regardless of financial assets or monthly income.

Since our founding in 1967, Friends House Retirement Community has been committed to providing housing and services to seniors with a wide range of financial resources. Beginning with construction over 35 years ago of twenty-five apartments for low to moderate income elderly, we have continued growing and now serve 240 seniors in:

• 100 federally subsidized apartments for low and moderate income seniors
• 32 non-subsidized Cottages
• 82 bed skilled nursing home facility

Friends House Retirement Community is more of an extended family, a community of caring, than an institution. To continue to provide retirement housing and nursing home services affordable to all people regardless of their financial resources, we are in the midst of a $2.5 million Community of Caring Campaign. The Community of Caring Campaign has four clearly defined goals:

• Special Care Addition to Stabler Hall—to finance one half of the cost of a new $2.0 million, 24- bed, skilled nursing unit for residents who are mobile and active, but who are suffering dementia and mental confusion caused by Alzheimer’s, stroke, or other diseases.
• Assisted Living Center—to convert Haviland Hall into a 24 bed facility with private rooms for residents who can no longer live independently, but do not need skilled nursing care. The new assisted living center will help us fulfill our vision of a continuum of care for residents from independent living to assisted living to skilled nursing home care all on one campus.
• Resident Assistance Fund—to provide rent subsidies to low and moderate-income residents; to offer financial assistance for medical care, dental care and prescription drugs not covered by Medicare, Medigap, and private insurance; and to provide financial assistance for local transportation needs.
• Staff Development Fund—to attract, train, and retain high quality staff by granting scholarships for developing skills needed at Friends House, and to contribute toward paying the cost of continuing education and staff in-service training.

If you would like more information on living in the Friends House Retirement Community or more information on how you can financially support the ministry of Friends House, please contact Richard Barnes, Director of Advancement and Outreach, Friends House Retirement Community, 17340 Quaker Lane, Sandy Spring, Maryland. Phone 301.924.5100 or e-mail: CaringCampaign@comcast.net.