CELEBRATING 60 YEARS … When Fairlawn Retirement Community opened its doors in 1964, its mission was to provide “a place for aging… where residents would receive tender, loving care.” Since then, Fairlawn’s campus and mission have grown to meet ever-changing needs of the aging. Several Fairlawn administrators recently told Archbold Rotarians how Fairlawn plans to evolve for its next 60 years. From left: Todd Moore, Fairlawn’s director of business administration; Tammy Allison, executive director; Sean Allen, admissions director; and Lora Ripke, community relations director. (PHOTO PROVIDED)
This year, the Fairlawn Retirement Community will celebrate 60 years of serving the housing and healthcare needs of the area’s aging population.
In 1964, Fairlawn’s focus was to provide a place for aging. However, that mission has evolved to become a place where residents can age in place.
The campus now includes independent living options that range from duplexes and apartments with access to a fitness center to assisted living. Fairlawn also provides short-term rehab, skilled nursing, memory care and long-term care.
Its campus accounts for roughly 10 percent of Archbold’s total population. Executive director Tammy Allison told Rotarians that the Fairlawn board of directors and staff have been working with a consultant to develop a plan that will elevate their services to even better meet their residents’ needs.
Some of those needs, she explained, will involve renovating sections of their facility. For example, Phase 1 of the long-range plan converts the 1964 building into private rooms that include a bathroom and shower to give residents more privacy.
The building will be converted into pods of 10 to 12 private rooms that share living and dining space.
Later renovations will reflect the projected future needs of the community as well as how much space should be devoted to special types of care, such as memory care.
Allison said that the engineering and financial studies that have been completed determined that while some portions of the Fairlawn building could be renovated other areas would be less costly to tear down and rebuild to meet the design needs of specific services.
How much of the plan can be done and how quickly it can be completed is yet to be determined, Allison told Rotarians. Capital campaigns will have to be organized to raise the money.
However, not all of Fairlawn’s building for the future involve bricks and mortar. People are the heart of what makes Fairlawn special to residents, she said.
Before COVID, Fairlawn staff was entirely comprised of their own employees. However, Fairlawn, as well as other healthcare facilities, lost employees during the stress and challenges caused by COVID.
Currently, about 60 percent of Fairlawn’s staff is their own employees with agency staff making up the rest.
Allison said that Fairlawn is using a number of strategies to lessen their reliance on agency staff. “We try to promote from within,” she said.
Fairlawn recruits people who are interested in a healthcare career but may not have completed all of the training for a certain licensure. So, for example, they hire med techs and pay for their training to become STNAs (state tested nursing assistants).
Allison added that Fairlawn constantly monitors salaries and makes adjustments as needed to offer competitive wage and benefit packages as well as flexible scheduling.
