Backgrounder

04/22/2009

About Glenmeadow

Glenmeadow provides premier housing and the services people need to live a worry-free retirement. It is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that exists to provide quality services for seniors. 

Glenmeadow offers independent and assisted-living apartments at its campus at 24 Tabor Crossing in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Through the recently expanded Glenmeadow at Home program, it also provides service coordination, home and property services, personal care and support, and wellness programs to seniors wherever they live in the Greater Springfield Area-in their own homes, in an apartment on Glenmeadow's campus, or in an assisted-living community or nursing home.

Glenmeadow is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities-Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CARF-CCAC), which assures the public that there has been an external third-party review of quality and financial stability. The organization is also a member in good standing of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM), the Massachusetts Aging Services Association (MassAging), and the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities Association (Mass-ALFA). 

Glenmeadow's affiliate, Glenmeadow Consulting, LLC, provides organizational assessments and expertise in administration, financial management, human resources, marketing, and program development to small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations across the country.

History of Glenmeadow

Glenmeadow was established in 1884, long before there were Social Security payments, pensions, or 401(k) plans. Springfield-area residents who were fortunate enough to live beyond the normal life expectancy of 55, were routinely cared for and lived with their families during their final years. Those without families were sent to the community poor farm. This was actually a working farm that housed penniless seniors, single mothers, people with mental illness, substance abusers, homeless people, and those with no other options. 

In 1884, a group of concerned citizens gathered at the home of Marvin Chapin on Mattoon Street in Springfield. They wanted to create a safe haven where retired "gentlewomen" could live out the balance of their days with dignity. For the first time, women without family and with limited funds were assured a safe, comfortable, and dignified retirement. They founded The Springfield Home for Aged Women. The name was later changed to Chestnut Knoll, and is now known as Glenmeadow.

This mission-focused approach has not changed. Today, Glenmeadow is dedicated to serving seniors, nurturing mind, body, and spirit, wherever they call home, whether that is an apartment on Glenmeadow's campus in Longmeadow, the two-story colonial in West Springfield they've lived in for decades, or an apartment in the memory unit of an assisted-living community in Wilbraham. Glenmeadow partners with older adults and their loved ones, redefining retirement living on each senior's terms. 

Glenmeadow at Home Services

The newly expanded Glenmeadow at Home program offers a large and growing list of services designed to provide whatever people need to live a worry-free retirement. This is a partial list:

Service Coordination:

• Service recommendations and scheduling
• Assessments and care-plan development
• Contingency planning and recommendations for the future
• Emergency and middle-of-the-night support 

Home and Property Services:

• Housecleaning
• Handyman services
• Chore services
• Organizing services
• Secretarial support
• Supervision of others working at your home 

Personal Care and Support:

• Assistance with personal care
• Meal preparation and delivery
• Escorts and transportation
• Errands and grocery shopping 

Wellness Programs:

• Personal fitness training
• Exercise programs
• Companionship-visits and phone calls
• Trips, events, and outings 

Key Staff at Glenmeadow

Timothy V. Cotz, Executive Director

Richard E. Cabral Director of Community Services

Linda Edwards, Director of Marketing

David Leslie, Controller

Anne Miller, Assistant Administrator

Glenmeadow Board of Directors

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