Retirement News : Seniors : Is lack of continuing care facility driving seniors out of Athens?

Is lack of continuing care facility driving seniors out of Athens?

Date Added: 26-04-2005

Whether or not construction begins on a continuing-care retirement facility in Athens this year, at least two local elderly couples might follow the paths of numerous other longtime senior residents -- one that leads out of the city.

John and Verda Jones of Elmwood Place and Bill and Katherine Inman of Annette Drive said they have decided to leave Athens.

Both couples, who are in their 80s, are continuing a trend of Athens seniors leaving the community because of inadequate retirement facilities. According to Margaret Topping, who is the Athens Continuing Care Retirement Facility president, about 50 seniors who wanted to live the rest of their lives in Athens have left in recent years.

The Joneses and Inmans appear to be adding to the list.

Even though the prospects look good for a retirement facility to be built off Stimson Avenue on Athens near east side, John Jones said he and his wife decided in early fall that there was not enough certainty, and they began looking elsewhere.

The facility, which has been criticized by some neighborhood residents, still requires City Council approval.

Now, the Jones have paid a deposit to live in Friendship Village in Columbus, and pending the sale of their house, Jones said he will leave the place where he has lived for all but five years of life.

"It is a difficult decision," he said. If the Joneses are unable to sell their home, however, Jones said they will not be able to afford the move to Columbus.

Not only will the Joneses be departing with friends they have made in Athens, but they also have to adjust to a new environment, which means finding new doctors, dentists and other service providers.

Jones said he knows of 19 other seniors who have left Athens for other cities in Ohio that have retirement facilities such as Columbus. "There is definitely a need for one of these (retirement facilities) here," he said.

The Inmans did not want to be interviewed for this article.

The Jones' decision to leave Athens was not just hard for the Joneses; it also could be tough on the city.

John Jones has been active in the community including serving as president of the OU Alumni Association, on Athens City Council, on the O'Bleness Foundation for 25 years, and with the Sheltering Arms Foundation.

Verda Jones also has been involved as a founder of the Athens Foundation, member of the Sheltering Arms Hospital Board, member of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce board, and president of the Sheltering Arms Guild.

Both the Jones have been honored by OU as outstanding alumni.

"Athens is losing a lot knowledge," John Jones said of those who have had to leave. Many of the seniors leaving "were active in the community and you're losing that when they leave town," he said.

Another example of an active Athens resident who had to leave town is former OU President Harry Crewson, according to Jones. "He's a very active man, and he didn't want to leave," he said. Crewson also founded the Ohio University Employee's Credit Union.

OU has been a supporter of a retirement facility -- and has offered the Stimson Avenue land for that purpose for $1 a year -- as a way to encourage retiring faculty and staff members to remain in the community.

Jones argued that losing retirees will have a negative economic effect on the city as well.

The proposed location for the retirement facility has been controversial because some near-east-end residents have said they do not want to lose the green space they have been using for years. While opponents also point to flooding and traffic concerns among other arguments, the main motivation appears to be preserving the green space.

"Both sides are concerned with their own interests," Jones said.

Now that the development proposal has made it through the Planning Commission, it can begin the City Council approval process.

The development has two phases that would create three buildings that contain a total of 36 assisted-living units, 45 congregrate-housing units and 66 independent-living units; create four cottages; and employ between 50 and 75 people, according to the design plans.

Even though the construction of a retirement facility near Stimson Avenue is closer to becoming a reality, Jones has reason to be skeptical.

He can remember in 1994 when he was a trustee with the O'Bleness Foundation when they agreed to provide $60,000 over a two-year period to build a retirement facility. OU had agreed to match the donation, he said.

But after the plans fell through, "it looked like we were back to start without anyone in control," Jones said. Still, he remains optimistic that Athens will get a retirement facility.

"Eventually, (a retirement facility) will materialize," Jones predicted. "If this isn't the time, then it will be just a few years down the road. If we don't get this now... people who would have preferred to stay will have to leave, too."

Retirement housing also has been proposed in the University Estates development just northwest of Athens.

Critics of the Stimson Avenue project stress that they don't oppose such a facility in Athens; they just have problems with the proposed site.

For More Information: http://www.athensnews.com/issue/article.php3?story_id=20431