Celebrating 40 years of caring for seniors
After 40 years of operation and providing senior care for the area’s aging population, Sagepoint Senior Living Services continues to grow while maintaining its focus on local service.
“We take great pride in the fact that over 40 years we have answered what we believe to be a call to take care of seniors,” William M. Holman, president and CEO, said of the organization.
To celebrate the milestone, Sagepoint will host a weekend of events beginning Thursday with an employee picnic and “An Evening with Kim Campbell,” at Port Tobacco Players in La Plata. The wife of the late entertainer Glen Campbell who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease will discuss her role as a caregiver during her husband’s illness.
The organization will also host a private event on Friday and community day Saturday on the La Plata Road main campus with education sessions, tours, music, children’s activities, and virtual dementia tours that will enable participants to experience the symptoms of the disease.
Formerly known as Charles County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (CCNRC), the nonprofit corporation was founded in 1976 with the ability to serve 105 patients. The center was governed by a voluntary board of nine trustees appointed by the Charles County Board of County Commissioners.
“It was so needed here,” Mary Beth Chandler, a Sagepoint volunteer and 40th anniversary committee member, said of the facility. “It meant so much to the families to have a facility where you didn’t need to go out of county. So everybody embraced it. Everybody wanted it. We needed it.”
About 10 years later, the Adult Day Services Program was added initially with 25 participants in the Nursing Center building. That program grew to 38 participants five years later.
In 1992, the nursing center expanded to four units with the ability to serve 165 people. Two nursing units were used for long-term care, one was designated as a secure unit for residents suffering from dementia and the rehabilitation unit accommodated 21 patients for short-stay care.
The corporation continued to grow, adding an addition to the Adult Day Services building in 1995, increasing its services to care for 38 participants. In 2006, the corporation added assisted living to its services with the purchase of Abbey Manor —16 assisted living rooms within two buildings on Morris Drive in La Plata.
The county commissioners turned the properties and buildings over to CCNRC allowing for a self-sustaining board operated under bylaws developed and approved by the board of trustees.
The construction of a two-story medical arts building was completed in 2012 on the main campus along La Plata Road. The first floor is leased to Fresenius Medical Care, a dialysis provider and the second floor houses a 12-bed secure assisted living community for adults with dementia.
In 2015, the board agreed to compile all services under one name, deciding on Sagepoint Senior Living Services. In addition to building a new assisted living community, Sagepoint began providing home care services and also acquired Circle of Care home care agency in Prince Frederick.
“We’ve stayed the same through rebranding,” Holman explained regarding the organization’s nonprofit status. “It doesn’t mean we don’t make a profit, it means revenue and expenses are invested back into the business, buying new equipment. None of the funds go to any one individual.”
Over 70 percent of individuals are on Medicaid, Holman said, and the corporation received four out of five stars from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services rating system, that compares nursing home quality around the country. The waiting list averages between five and 10 individuals, and the cost of care ranges from $260 a day for long-term care to $78 a day for adult day services.
The organization employs 360 individuals, provides care for 165 long-term patients and receives help from about 175 volunteers.
“Does that tell you anything right there about community involvement?,” Chandler said, laughing regarding the number of volunteers that surpasses the number of patients.
Ann Bergerstock, 49, has lived at Sagepoint for the past 11 years. One of the youngest residents in the facility, she is president of the resident council and helps choose and suggest ideas for activities the residents can do.
Originally from Atlanta, Bergerstock said Sagepoint is the third nursing home she has lived in. After being put in the hospital with double pneumonia and discovering a few more health problems, she was put into nursing homes and moved to Sagepoint to be closer to her sister, who lives in La Plata.
“This one’s a lot better,” Bergerstock said comparing her previous nursing home experiences. Her previous residence was nice, she said, “but not as well run as this one.” Her first home in Georgia was closed by the state she said because of abuse that she witnessed herself.
Unlike most residents at Sagepoint, Bergerstock has her own private room which she said has the comforts of a home and she can close the door if the hallway gets too noisy.
“Forty years ago, the space was built for two people in the room,” Carolyn Core, board chairman, said. “The goal to get all private rooms on this campus in the next 10 years is going to take a lot of effort and it’s going to be expensive.”
The board hopes the upcoming anniversary events will introduce more people to the services Sagepoint offers and communicate that the organization is more than long-term care.
“It’s about celebrating what we’ve become and recognizing the folks who have brought us here,” Chandler said.