WesleyLife Announces Affiliation With Leading Oklahoma City Retirement Community
Des Moines, Iowa – (July 10, 2009) – WesleyLife today announced an affiliation agreement with Epworth Villa, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) located in Oklahoma City, OK. The affiliation will enhance and increase services to Epworth Villa (Epworth) residents while offering financial strength and operational efficiencies. Rob Kretzinger, president and chief executive officer, WesleyLife, and Bob Benson, president and chief executive officer, Epworth Villa, presented the news and answered questions to Epworth Villa’s 400 residents and staff in a town hall style meeting Wednesday.
Celebrating almost 20 years of serving seniors in Oklahoma, Epworth Villa conducted a national search centered on finding a CCRC affiliation with strong resources and a similar focus on enhancing resident service and quality of life. The affiliation between Epworth Villa and Wesley is an interim agreement through April 2010 to provide services allowing increased purchasing power, financial strength, sharing of best practices and quality programs, expansion of services and an overall enhanced experience for residents and Epworth staff. After this interim period, Epworth Villa and Wesley management will determine the type of long-term structure that will continue to bring strength and value to both organizations.
“This relationship fits WesleyLife’s vision of purposeful, financially-sound growth with an organization that embraces the same mission of providing compassionate, Christ-centered care to older adults,” said Kretzinger. “We are proud of being Iowa’s most comprehensive nonprofit senior services organization and the Wesley team is excited to begin to share our best practices, financial stability and operational systems with the Epworth team.”
Wesley was established in 1947, employs approximately 1,000 associates and serves more than 4,000 older Iowans. The organization offers a full spectrum of services and amenities such as independent and assisted living apartments, short term rehabilitation or long-term skilled nursing, Alzheimer's and memory support, in-home health services, adult day services, hospice and more. Both Epworth and Wesley are associated with the United Methodist Church.
About WesleyLife
WesleyLife (formerly Wesley Retirement Services Inc.) is a nonprofit organization with an emphasis on providing services to seniors in a Christian, caring way, while promoting optimum independence and an active lifestyle. WesleyLife owns and operates six continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) throughout Iowa (Wesley Acres in Des Moines, Halcyon House in Washington, Heritage House in Atlantic, Park Centre in Newton, The Village in Indianola, and Wesley’s newest community, Edgewater in West Des Moines). In addition, WesleyLife serves older Iowans at home and throughout the community with Wesley Community Services (Adult day centers in Des Moines and Newton; home care and health services in Des Moines, Ames, Indianola and Atlantic; Meals On Wheels in Des Moines and hospice and palliative care in Des Moines, Ames and Indianola). For more information about WesleyLife please visit the Web site at www.wesleylife.org