Wartburg Celebrates 150th Anniversary of Nurturing Body, Mind & Spirit For Orphans and Seniors During 2016

Ahead of their time since its inception, Wartburg, a full-service continuing care organization serving Westchester and The Metro NY Area seniors that began as an orphan farm school in the wake of the Civil War, is celebrating its 150th Anniversary. Founded on the principal and belief that caring for the whole person is an essential component of a rich and happy life, nurturing body, mind and spirit have remained a key component of their mission as they have grown their unique array of programs, expanded their community impact, and preserved and honored the lives of seniors during their century and a half of service.

The celebratory events through the year includes Wartburg’s hallmark event, the Jazz in June Gala, featuring special guest B. Smith, a renowned model, TV host, restaurateur and author. Wartburg is proud to recognize B. Smith and her husband, Dan Gasby, for their public fight against Alzheimer’s Disease, after B. was diagnosed in 2012, including their bare-all book of their journey, “Before I Forget: Love, Hope and Acceptance in our Fight Against Alzheimer’s (2016).”

In 1866 when Reverend William A. Passavant was a visiting pastor at St. James Lutheran Church in New York City, he became acutely aware of the orphans and their desperate need for shelter and care after the Civil War. With the financial assistance of the church and other donations, combined with a generous gift of $30,000 from New York sugar refiner Peter Moller in memory of his son killed in the war, he purchased farmland to create a safe and supportive place for them to live and mature, providing not only a home for both boys and girls, but also training in work and life skills to prepare them to lead productive and independent lives when they left the orphanage.

At the time, the 125-acre parcel of land located in Pelham, New York reminded Passavant of “the site of The Wartburg where Luther translated the New Testament.” Pastor Holls, the first director, decided to call their new facility The Wartburg, securing a state charter in 1884 and officially named it “The Wartburg Orphans’ Farm School of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.”

Wartburg began to care for seniors in 1898, responding to the changing nature of families caused by the Industrial Revolution and the move away from farms to cities. As one of the first senior living communities in the New York State, and one of the few with indoor plumbing and an elevator, Wartburg has always led the way as an innovator, recognizing the value of social support and the positive impactful nature of intergenerational relationships. Wartburg quickly implemented programming that supported the emotional benefits of children on seniors, and reciprocally, the positive role models that these seniors were able to be for the children. It wasn’t until the late 1970’s, due to changes in foster care, that Wartburg decided to focus their care and services only on the senior population, after over 90 years of intergenerational visioning.

Always the trailblazer, and never deviating from their whole person philosophy, Wartburg continues to be a forward thinking and inclusive facility that understands and advocates for those transitioning into their later years by offering a supportive continuum of care for residents, from independent living in private townhomes to affordable apartments, as well as assisted living and nursing home care options. In response to the ever-growing trend of aging-in-place, Wartburg also provides a robust array of services that enable seniors to remain safely in their homes, including adult day care and home care, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, and even extending these services outside their facility to local parishes, senior centers, civic organizations and people of their community.

With a track record of being proactive, Wartburg’s Creative Aging & Lifelong Learning initiative, launched in 2009, allows nearly 500 Wartburg residents and registrants in independent and assisted living, nursing home and adult day care programs to express themselves through art, song, theater, poetry and oral histories. Always sensitive to the individual needs of each person in their care, the initiative offers programs based on the cognitive and mobility abilities of the group. This innovative program has been the recipient of numerous prestigious industry awards, including the 2012 Innovation of the Year Award by LeadingAge New York, a premier organization dedicated to creating the future of aging and continuing care services in New York State. Wartburg has again set the bar among senior living facilities in the way of offering extensive programming that provides hands-on creative activities that align with Wartburg’s mission to nurture body, mind and spirit.

As with everything Wartburg does, their Council for Creative Aging & Lifelong Learning goes well beyond the traditional scope by promoting greater emotional health, social engagement and lifelong learning for their residents and program registrants. By leveraging local resources through partnerships with area artists via bartered services, Wartburg is able to offer multi-week programs in a variety of art disciplines. In exchange, these artists are able to use the facilities after hours for classes, rehearsals and other events. In recognition of their longstanding approach to out-of-the-box thinking, Partners for Livable Communities selected Wartburg Creative Aging as one of two winners in their 2011 Stories for Change Contest and highlighted it as a “Best Practice” for innovative arts programs addressing the growing needs of older adults. Last year’s Visionaries segment on PBS about Wartburg’s history and their Creative Aging program recently won a Telly Award for excellence in documentaries.

Wartburg’s support goes beyond the gates of its campus and gives back to the Westchester community though Wartburg Cares! a program that builds upon their mission of providing educational and charitable events, advocacy-related programs, outreach and relationship-building within the community.

As the demographics of those in need have changed, Wartburg has been committed to ongoing expansions, and unique innovations in senior care, evidenced in their recently opened affordable senior housing complex in 2013, as well as the addition of Westchester’s only freestanding state-of-the-art rehabilitation center with all private bedrooms and bathrooms. In an effort to expand their continuum of care, Wartburg opened an Outpatient Rehabilitation Clinic in the new building in 2015.

Wartburg also cares for the environment. Both buildings were awarded the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification, a first for new construction and a health care facility in Mount Vernon. LEED certification signifies that a building is exemplary in conserving energy, lowering operating costs and being healthy for occupants.

“One hundred and fifty years ago we took care of young children. Fast-forward 150 years and now we are caring for the elderly,” says Wartburg Foundation Board Chair Dr. Nicholas Cicchetti. “So we have gone a full 180 degrees, which is unique in and of itself, through reinventing ourselves. When I worked here many years ago as a security guard, there were only a few buildings, and now we have a beautiful campus with many new structures offering independent, assisted living and rehabilitation services that serve the varying needs within our community.”

Wartburg’s 150 year vision of healing and hope has been upheld through their high level of care that touches on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health at every opportunity. According to George W. Newsome Jr., a former resident of The Wartburg Orphans’ Farm School in the 1950’s, “For me and my two brothers, Wartburg provided not only a home, shelter and food in a family-like environment, but also the guidance, leadership, inspiration, motivation, interest, concern and love necessary for us to grow into happy and productive adults. No dream or aspiration was ever too high.”

This collective positive spirit is also shared by the staff and board members who have faithfully served this cherished organization, some even former residents of The Wartburg Orphans’ Farm School. “It has always been about family which can be traced back to the Wartburg’s unique beginning,” said David Gentner, Wartburg President and CEO. “The Wartburg Orphans’ Farm School was a haven for children who were at their most vulnerable, and the staff today still see their role as a means of continuing that tradition of care. I am so proud to work beside them. It is a humbling experience at a very special time.”

“I feel that I’m walking on sacred ground because of the service to the children and the orphanage.” Says current resident Clyde Delores Herring, “I’m excited about the 150-year anniversary.”

Wartburg will have a series of events through the rest of 2016 to honor their long and prestigious history.

An upcoming highlight will be the 4th Annual Gala and 150th Anniversary Celebration that will feature a special appearance by restaurateur, model, author, and television host B. Smith with her husband, Dan Gasby.

A complete list of 2016 events can be seen at Wartburg Events.

Wartburg Website Homepage: www.wartburg.org

Wartburg Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/thewartburg

Wartburg Twitter Page: www.twitter.com/thewartburg

YouTube Page: www.youtube.com/wartburgny
Creative Aging Stories: www.creativeagingstories.com
Photos:

1. Wartburg’s oldest and youngest resident, c. 1920.

2. Girls in front of a Christmas tree in the 1970s.

3. A group photo from the Fall Festival, an annual community event still held today. The 1922 Fall Festival drew over 10,000 people.

4.The Wartburg Boys’ Band, seen here with longtime director Rev. Dr. Gottlieb Berkemeier.