A Hopeful Future
Offering a full continuum of care for the elderly
It’s a typical weekday at the new Sunset Nursing Facility at the Clifton Lutheran Sunset Home in Clifton, Texas. In the beauty parlor, three ladies exchange stories while waiting for their new hairstyles to set. Residents gather in their common room for their weekly bingo-and-popcorn party. Staff members prepare for a community cookout to celebrate three of the residents’ birthdays.
For seniors like the ones who live on these 21 acres of rolling hills in central Texas, it’s often true that life is what you make of it. And thanks to the wide range of resources, facilities, and talented staff of this ELCA ministry, residents at Clifton Lutheran Sunset Home (CLSH) are able to get the most out of life – attending social events, exploring hobbies, and treating each new day as a gift.
In 1954, CLSH was converted to a full-time facility to house and care for elderly residents, from what was originally a local college campus that merged with a larger university. Since then, the facility has continually blazed trails in an area of Texas where options are few and far between for residents over retirement age. The nursing home on the campus was the first in the county. Rainbow Retirement Community, also on the Clifton campus, was the first housing option nearby that catered solely to residents aged 62 and older. And Clifton also houses the first and, to date, only separately run facility in the area for elderly patients suffering from memory loss.
As Clifton Lutheran has grown over the past 50 years, so too has the surrounding vicinity, making it more difficult for this ministry to keep up with the needs of the community. Still made up largely of descendants of original Norwegian settlers, the town of Clifton has present-day population of 3,500, but boasts one of Texas’ most recognized centers for Western art. As more and more artists have moved into the area, previous generations have retired, and there has been a growing waiting list to get into Clifton’s facilities.
With each passing year, it became more and more obvious that expansion would be necessary. Says President and CEO Cal Goerdel, “We recognized the need not only to rebuild and expand, but to restructure the ministry entirely to better meet the needs of the community of the Clifton area.”
After bringing in expert consultants, CLSH directors realized the most cost-effective way to expand would be to raze an unused building on the campus to allow for new buildings to be built. Fresh ideas soon began to emerge for a new multi-facility development project. The ministry called upon the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA to help guide the process and provide financing for the project.
Soon, a multi-million dollar expansion was under way. A loan from the Mission Investment Fund provided the interim financing needed to begin building on a parallel track with their capital campaign. Because of the help from MIF, they were able to “fast track” the development of three new facilities on the campus. Hope Center was designed to offer expert care for up to 32 Alzheimer, dementia, and memory-loss patients. Sunset Nursing Home was expanded to offer residents more modern and comfortable living and recreational areas, including a dining room, chapel, and rehabilitation center. And the new facilities at College Hill Assisted Living Apartments allowed CLHS to increase its capacity to a total of 225 full-time residents.
Different patients have different needs. Through visionary planning and careful project execution, Clifton Sunset Lutheran Home has successfully expanded its offerings to provide a complete continuum of care to Bosque County’s elderly residents.
At the Hope Center, healthcare professionals work patiently and create an environment of “unhurried relaxation” to help improve the patients’ quality of life while assisting them through everyday activities. Activity leaders at Sunset Nursing host everything from crafts and exercise classes to musical performances and ice cream socials. And in the hospice facility, expert caregivers provide physical, emotional and spiritual support to patients and their loved ones.
With mixed emotions, CLSH’s Goerdel now prepares for his own retirement from Clifton Lutheran. “It’s going to be hard to turn this place loose once my time is up,” he muses. “But the beauty of it is seeing how much we’ve been able to grow in the time I’ve been here. It gives me even more hope for the future of this place.”