LifeSphere
Encyclopedia
LifeSphere is a non-profit organization headquartered in Springdale, Ohio
, a suburb of Cincinnati. The organization is centered around helping older adults live to their highest potential as individuals by helping them seek independence, good health and personal fulfillment. LifeSphere owns and operates The Knolls of Oxford and Maple Knoll Village continuing care retirement communities (CCRC), Sycamore Senior Center, Maple Knoll Senior Services three HUD
Residences, LifeSphere Home Health Services, WMKV
89.3 FM Radio Station, a Montessori Child Center, the Manor House restaurant, the Main Street Café, and an array of other services for seniors.
, this benevolent group created a home for these individuals and planted the seeds of what would become LifeSphere.
Below is a timeline that begins in 1848 and continues through today.
(CCRC) in Springdale
, Ohio
, United States
, about 20 minutes from downtown Cincinnati
. Originally founded in 1848, it is home to over 700 seniors who live in independent-living cottage
s and apartment
s, assisted living
apartments, and a nursing home
.
Springdale, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,563 people, 4,421 households, and 2,816 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,131.0 people per square mile . There were 4,607 housing units at an average density of 929.4 per square mile...
, a suburb of Cincinnati. The organization is centered around helping older adults live to their highest potential as individuals by helping them seek independence, good health and personal fulfillment. LifeSphere owns and operates The Knolls of Oxford and Maple Knoll Village continuing care retirement communities (CCRC), Sycamore Senior Center, Maple Knoll Senior Services three HUD
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...
Residences, LifeSphere Home Health Services, WMKV
WMKV
WMKV is a radio station in Reading, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cincinnati. It is the first FM educational public radio station to be licensed to a retirement community and also streams live via webcast...
89.3 FM Radio Station, a Montessori Child Center, the Manor House restaurant, the Main Street Café, and an array of other services for seniors.
History of LifeSphere
LifeSphere has existed in one form or another since 1848. It was founded when a group of concerned citizens of Cincinnati witnessed the untenable situation of elderly persons without families. Led by Mrs. Lydia Beecher, the stepmother of Harriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
, this benevolent group created a home for these individuals and planted the seeds of what would become LifeSphere.
Below is a timeline that begins in 1848 and continues through today.
Timeline
- 1848 Mrs. Lydia Beecher founds The Society for the Relief of Aged Indigent Women.
- 1851 The Society for the Relief of Aged Indigent Women changes its name to The Home for Aged and Indigent Women and incorporated.
- 1855 The Protestant Home for the Friendless and Foundlings is established by a group of Cincinnati ladies as a "refuge for destitute women".
- 1879 Abram M. Taylor, one of the first trustees of the Widows' Home, bequeaths money to establish a home for old men. He wants to consolidate the management of the Old Men's Home and the Widows' Home; the two organizations enter into an agreement.
- 1881 Mrs. Lauretta Gibson founds The Bodmann German Protestant Widows' Home.
- 1884 The Protestant Home for the Friendless and Foundlings changes its name to The Hospital and Home for the Friendless.
- 1916 The Bodmann German Protestant Widows' Home becomes the Bodmann Widows' Home.
- 1932 The Widow's Home and the Old Men's Home are officially consolidated and incorporate as the Widow's and Old Men's Home.
- 1950 The Hospital and Home for the Friendless becomes Maple Knoll Hospital and Home.
- 1973 The Maple Knoll Hospital and Home merges with the Widows' and Old Men's home under the leadership of Jerry D. Smart, president of the Widows' and Old Men's Home. Southwestern Ohio Seniors' Services, Inc. is introduced as the new corporate name for the merged organization.
- 1974 The Bodmann Widows' Home is merged into Southwestern Ohio Seniors' Services, Inc.
- 1977 Maple Knoll Village opens to seniors, providing independent living apartments and long-term nursing facilities.
- 1995 WMKVWMKVWMKV is a radio station in Reading, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cincinnati. It is the first FM educational public radio station to be licensed to a retirement community and also streams live via webcast...
89.3 FM, the flagship radio station of the LifeSphere network, opens in 1995 as the nations first educational public radio station to be licensed to a retirement community. The station features big band music and information regarding activities and services available to older adults. - 1997 Sycamore Senior Adult Multi-Service Center, Inc. merges with SOSSI. Sycamore Senior Adult Multi-Service Center, Inc. includes Sycamore Senior Center, Anderson Senior Center, a home health agency and two elderly housing facilities, Mount View Terrace and Corbly Trace.
- 2000 SOSSI expands into Oxford, Ohio, opening a new retirement community called The Knolls of Oxford. When complete in 2004, The Knolls also will include 80 cottages, 40 assisted living apartments and 50 nursing care units.
- 2001 Southwestern Ohio Seniors' Services, Inc. becomes LifeSphere.
- 2001 LifeSphere helps to celebrate the Grand Opening of the brand new Sycamore Senior Center with an up to the minute facility as well as fresh programs.
- 2002 LifeSphere celebrates the Gran Opening of the Life Enriching Gardens located on the campus of Maple Knoll Village. The Gardens, which include a Memory Garden, Enabling Garden, and a Children's Garden, seek to improve the quality of life for those who live and work within the facility.
- 2002 Maple Knoll Village proudly celebrates its 25th anniversary of serving older adults within the Greater Cincinnati area.
- 2003 James M. Formal takes over as the new President and CEO of LifeSphere. Mr. Formal sees his new position as an opportunity to serve the residents to the best of his ability and while doing so, to position LifeSphere to be successful far into the future.
- 2005 The Knolls of Oxford and Miami University enter into an affiliation that will advance interaction between the two organizations. Among the benefits of this agreement are: research and internship opportunities for students, new educational experiences, and increased intergenerational experiences for both parties.
- 2005 LifeSphere Home Health Services are recognized as a National Best Practice Agency and is also invited to take part in The National Hospitalization Study.
- 2006 Construction begins on the New Westminster Cottages. The 22 cottages are the largest in the history of LifeSphere.
- 2006 WMKVWMKVWMKV is a radio station in Reading, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cincinnati. It is the first FM educational public radio station to be licensed to a retirement community and also streams live via webcast...
89.3 FM signs an unprecedented agreement with FOX19WXIX-TVWXIX-TV channel 19 is the Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate in Cincinnati, Ohio. The station's city of license is Newport, Kentucky, across the Ohio River...
allowing WMKV to broadcast morning news. Other changes within the radio station include the revival of classic programs such as Theater of the Mind, Mystery Playhouse and The Big Broadcast.
Maple Knoll Village
Maple Knoll Village is a continuing care retirement communityRetirement community
A retirement community, or active adult community, is a very broad, generic term that covers many varieties of housing for retirees and seniors - especially designed or geared for people who no longer work, or restricted to those over a certain age . It differs from a retirement home which is a...
(CCRC) in Springdale
Springdale, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,563 people, 4,421 households, and 2,816 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,131.0 people per square mile . There were 4,607 housing units at an average density of 929.4 per square mile...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, about 20 minutes from downtown Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. Originally founded in 1848, it is home to over 700 seniors who live in independent-living cottage
Cottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
s and apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s, assisted living
Assisted living
Assisted living residences or assisted living facilities provide supervision or assistance with activities of daily living ; coordination of services by outside health care providers; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being.Assistance may...
apartments, and a nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
.