NEW DIRECTIONS IN ELDERCARE Dear Supporters of The Otis Health Care Center, As many of you know, the Board of Trustees of the Otis Health Care Center recently voted to close Stratton House Nursing Home. The Trustees deliberated long and hard before making this decision, exploring every possible option. We are extremely proud of what Stratton House has done for so many families over its 49-year history, and the fact that it has stayed open this long, in the face of ever-increasing losses, is testimony to you and to your generous support over the years. During the last ten years, our service area has seen a 34% increase in residents age 65 or older. People are living longer and many are maintaining a much higher level of fitness than their parents and grandparents. Most of us desire to remain in our own homes as long as possible. For many, adult day care programs and residential care homes provide the optimum level of care, and at a lower cost than nursing homes. The Otis Health Care Center will now focus on how best to serve a much larger number of elders than our current 18-bed nursing home would ever have allowed. Our plans include adding eight additional rooms to Heins Home residential care home. The Townshend Adult Activity Center will continue to expand, as will our physician-assisted housecall services. We are committed to a new, exciting, and successful direction in eldercare that will provide a broad range of services that our older population requires and deserves in order to meet their needs. With your continued support, we now have an opportunity to continue in the tradition of the Otis Health Care Center and to provide a cutting-edge model for rural elder care in the 21st century. Sincerely, Lawrin Crispe President Otis Health Care Center Bette Parsons picks people up at their homes in the Otis Health Care Center's wheelchair-accessible bus. This group goes to Brattleboro for medical appointments, shopping, lunch and errands; Heins Home residents also join these excursions to Brattleboro or Springfield. Trips to Bellows Falls for ice cream or to nearby apple orchards are also greatly enjoyed by those who might otherwise be homebound. This bus was funded by the Fannie Holt Ames and Louise Holt Fund and matching gifts from Otis Health Care Center supporters. Call (803) 365-7140 x 118 to learn more about these bus trips. Next story >>