Out Love, Out Serve “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13 2013 is our “Year of Love.” This permeates all together and showing solidarity in a difficult time. we do day by day. We were challenged immediately All things have a beginning and an end, and we are with the announcement that our first campus, sad to see the end of a great ministry in Gunter, Texas. Hilltop Haven, would be closing. Slashing cuts to reimbursement by both state and federal sources The Christian Care Centers story, however, is and a surge of new nursing homes being built ongoing. We served more individuals in 2012 during the past decade were major factors. The than ever before, and 2013 is proving to be on reality of overpowering preference by consumers track to surpass last year. The service areas at our for health care that was more convenient to their Lakewood Village and Mesquite Campuses are homes, and doctors who would not travel fifteen busy. New residents are joining our ministry each miles to see their patients were also major factors day. Life is evident in the hearts that beat regularly that put an end to a 65 year ministry to seniors in among our residents, family members, and staff. Grayson County. The Spirit of God moves among our walls each day as we serve one another in love. If you see We had the task of finding placement for yourself serving others, we invite you to join us approximately 100 residents to other facilities. as a resident, supporter, and/or prayer warrior, Our staff, knowing they would be moving on as utilizing your talents and your resources. We seek well, shouldered the weight, made phone calls your love, your prayers, and your service. As our to family members, scheduled appointments “Year of Love” continues, we seek opportunities to discuss options, and helped pack and move to Out Love and Out Serve, bringing the love of residents as they left Hilltop Haven to go to their Christ each day to this place! next destination. Our loving staff continued to give the quality care that earned them top God’s blessings, rankings in the county, serving each individual at the highest level until the day the last resident was transferred. Many of the staff members were recruited highly by local providers, and some have even found themselves serving the same residents Phil Elmore at their new location. These two paragraphs are President/CEO a major oversimplification of the events pre and post closing and do not do justice to the teams that were comprised of staff from all locations coming 2 Hilltop Haven Closure On Wednesday, January 16, Phil Elmore, President and CEO of Christian Care Centers, Inc., announced the future closing of our beloved 65 year old campus, Hilltop Haven, located in Gunter, Texas. Mr. Elmore stood before the assembled employees, and with a heavy heart, announced the closure for March 16, 2013. Phil, much like Joshua standing before the assemblage of God’s people of old, recited the history of Hilltop Haven. He told of the months of prayer and diligent efforts to remain viable on what he referenced as the “sacred ground” of Gunter. He said, “The frailest and the neediest have been cared for here. Heroes of the faith have spent their final days here. God’s Heavenly Kingdom has welcomed thousands HOME from this sacred place.” Mr. Elmore profusely thanked the Hilltop Haven staff for their dedicated service and assured them of assistance in finding employment in the area and professional Christian counseling, if necessary. He assured the Hilltop Haven family that Christian Care Centers would work with residents’ families tirelessly to find suitable placements for our remaining 98 residents. “Competition and convenience have challenged our ministry for years,” explained Mr. Elmore. “Consistent underfunding of Medicaid, our primary service option, and an overwhelming reduction of Medicare payments have made it impossible to continue with this ministry at Hilltop Haven.” Mr. Elmore prayed with the staff, “Please, O LORD, give us grace—AMAZING GRACE—to navigate through the challenges, the changes, and through the opportunities ahead of us.” Please be assured that the ministry and mission of Christian Care Centers remains strong and bright. We still serve approximately 2,ooo seniors on our other two campuses and in our Home Health and Hospice care. Expansions are presently being planned on the Fort Worth campus for a much needed memory care unit and a new rehab facility on the Mesquite campus. An exciting Satellite Community is being planned in the Metroplex as well. We solicit your earnest prayers for our residents and staff at Hilltop Haven during this time of transition. We LOOK UP for Divine Providence to blanket us and empower us in days ahead, as did Joshua in Joshua chapter 24. 3 “The exemplary, Christ-like care of seniors remains our ‘calling,’ just as it has been from our infancy on the sacred soil of Gunter.” Once the closure announcement was made, all 98 residents in the Nursing Home found new locations and moved out within the first 19 days. The residents relocated to 35 different Skilled Nursing facilities throughout the area, as well as across the state. Seven residents moved to Christian Care Center in Mesquite. The Hilltop Haven Chaplain and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Luker, have relocated to the Lakewood Village Campus of Christian Care Centers. Brother Luker is now the Chaplain at Lakewood Village. A job fair was held for the employees of Hilltop Haven. Many have been employed by area employers and are continuing to serve the residents they previously served at Hilltop Haven. On February 17, a Hilltop Haven Memories event was held for the residents and their families, employees and their families, and friends of Hilltop Haven. The event included speeches by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Harold Tidwell; President and CEO, Phil Elmore; and Sr. Vice President and COO, Ken Carpenter. A highlight of the day were remarks by Linda Morrison, Sr. Vice President/COO, retired, sharing many of her Hilltop memories. The event also featured a 15 minute video of 18 Hilltop Haven employees sharing their memories. A historical photostory showed an overview of the 65 years of Hilltop Haven’s history. The residents living at Hilltop when the announcement was made were given a large print Bible with their name engraved on the cover. The 130 employees were also given a personalized Bible. A reception was held in the annex following the Memories service. The event ended with the release of 300 purple and white balloons over Hilltop Haven. Just as the wind scattered the balloons over North Texas on that windy Sunday afternoon, we know that the winds of influence at Hilltop Haven have spread across the years and miles blessing many thousands during these six decades. 4 “I’ve Got a Mansion Over the Hilltop…” Sitting sweetly and silently in her wheelchair in our Special Care Unit in Mesquite is a small woman with a huge heart. Only few know of her immense stature as matriarch of the vast ministry in North Texas that came to be known as Christian Care Centers. Ralph Godfrey served as our founding “Superintendent” of the Home for the Aged in Gunter in 1947—and came back to Gunter twice, in 1959 and 1969, to stabilize the ministry when the Home for the Aged was wobbling due to insufficient funds. Ralph actually finished his race in Gunter in 1994 as one of our residents. Brother Godfrey was a titanic figure of the Restoration Movement during his lifetime. Ralph also served Boles Home, Sunny Glenn Children’s Home, Lubbock Christian College, the Bible Chair at OC, and served as a local preacher in several towns in Texas and Oklahoma. His gift was being a prophetic voice within the church, championing the cause of those often forgotten. His famous quote is in a prominent place in our Corporate Office in Mesquite: “Home for the Aged needs three things— Grit, Grace and Greenbacks. Grit, we have, Grace, God will give the Grace, but who is going to give the Greenbacks?” Ralph wrote in the June 1947 Herald of Hope : “This home and its care cannot give escape from death. We can add, by constant care in some cases, weeks, months, or years of comfortable life to the lot of some. We foresee that our family shall be saddened by death. The other side of the picture is bright. We can achieve a Christian environment. We can make those who live here comfortable. We can reduce suffering to a minimum. We can provide proper food. We can give tender care. For all these things, we are thankful.” These words still echo in our hallways. From the April 1948 Herald of Hope, as Ralph tirelessly was trying to raise funds, he wrote: “It is all right to send the gospel to foreign fields, but don’t forget the old soldiers who pioneered the gospel in America. You’ll find some of them in the Home for Aged…Don’t neglect the needs of the Home. You may be a guest here someday…Chickens come home to roost, so let’s fix a ‘pole’ for them to roost on.” Ruth and the five children, of course, lived, breathed, ate, and slept the ministry of Hilltop Haven. Joe was six when his folks moved to Gunter. He remembers: “The old Gunter Bible College building was unfit for the residents.