Adult Day Services at Landis Homes Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The following comments were shared at the 25th Anniversary celebration on August 15, 2014.  Learn more about Adult Day Services at https://landisadultday.org/

Landis Homes’ dream of providing services for people wishing to remain at home was realized first in 1989 with the creation of Eden West Adult Day Services (ADS).

In a sense, it is this same dream that caused Landis Homes to create Landis Communities in September 2011 to be an umbrella organization over Landis Homes and other new ventures that support persons in living where they wish to live.

The idea for Landis Communities goes back to 2008, when the Landis Homes Board of Directors and Management Team entered into a time of strategic planning guided by Mennonite Health Services.  We talked with 150 different stakeholders including residents, team members, business partners, church leaders, and other friends of Landis Homes. The stakeholders were asked four questions as part of this “Appreciative Inquiry,” including:

1. What do you see as core strengths of Landis Homes’ culture, services, and staff?
2. What unique opportunities for enriching Landis Homes’ services do you see?
3. What might be new opportunities or unmet needs in the larger community that Landis Homes should consider?
4. As you think about your future as an older adult, are there ways we should explore that would serve you as a consumer?

When the board got the responses, several concerns clearly rose to the top: How can we be more involved in the larger Lancaster community? What can we do for people who choose not to live in a retirement community setting? What about people who may not be able to afford to live in a retirement community?

Considering these questions, the board saw the need to serve a broader spectrum of people, including those of varying financial situations. The result was the formation of Landis Communities, with the mission of “Following God’s call to creatively serve the diverse needs and interests of older adults by developing opportunities and collaborative relationships.”

Besides keeping Landis Homes strong and vital, the new organization is committed to providing a number of affordable living options for retirees in the surrounding community, serving persons in their homes, and developing creative partnerships in support of this mission.

Adult Day Services at Landis Homes, both the Eden West and Eden East centers, clearly align with this mission, and I am deeply grateful to each person who attends Adult Day Services and to each ADS staff member, along with the Office of Aging and other supporters of ADS, for your part in this service to the community.  Thank you!