Fairhaven - A Continuing Care Community

Fairhaven is pleased to announce that Elise Gamertsfelder, a 2010 graduate of Liberty High School, has been awarded the Ella and Irl Beall Scholarship. Elise was an active participant in numerous school clubs and activities, including the softball team, Spanish Club, Symphonic Band, Soccer team, Ski and Snowboard Club. She was the Editor-in-Chief for the Liberty High School yearbook during her senior year, served on the Principal’s Advisory Committee all four years of her high school experience. Elise was inducted into the National Honor Society in 2008.

Elise is enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing. She has been a devoted and successful employee of Fairhaven for two years.

Mr. and Mrs. Irl Beall were generous benefactors to EMA’s communities. They moved to Fairhaven in 1987 after extensive careers as educators in the Baltimore County school system.

They had particular interest in students working in dining services and seeing that they continued their education upon graduation from high school. The Bealls realized that today, more than ever, students require scholarships to support themselves through four years of college. They also wanted to help nursing staff working at EMA communities who wanted to return to college and get their RN, BSN, or MSN degrees. The Bealls established both of these scholarships in 1999. Today, eleven students have benefited from the Beall’s generosity through these scholarships. Recipients receive $18,000 over a four year period. All high school and nursing employees of EMA’s facilities are encouraged to apply for these scholarships.

EMA is a not-for-profit, faith-based family of retirement communities and resources which owns and operates Fairhaven. Fairhaven is a full-service continuing care retirement community with 315 residential living apartments and cottages, 34 assisted living apartments, and a 77 bed comprehensive nursing care center. Fairhaven has been serving Carroll County since 1980. Additional EMA communities not mentioned previously include Copper Ridge, also in Carroll County, Buckingham’s Choice in Frederick County and William Hill Manor in Talbot County.

Robin Somers, Executive Director of Fairhaven, has been elected to serve as a member of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) House of Delegates. The 200-member House of Delegates is AAHSA’s governing body and is made up of leaders in the long-term care and aging services field. Delegates elect the members of the AAHSA board of directors and its officers, and also assist the AAHSA board of directors in clarifying association policy, long-range planning and governance of the association. Somers will serve a three-year term. “Robin Somers is a valuable addition to our organization’s House of Delegates,” said Dr. William L. Minnix, AAHSA's President and CEO, "Somers’ hard work and expertise will help ensure that America’s older adults receive the services they need, when the need them, in the place they call home."

Somers holds a Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Maryland. She is a resident of Eldersburg.

Belonging to the EMA faith-based family of retirement communities and resources, Fairhaven is a not-for-profit, full-service life care retirement community with 314 residential living apartments and cottages, 34 assisted living apartments, and a 77 bed comprehensive nursing care center. Fairhaven has been serving Carroll County since 1980. Other members of the EMA family not mentioned previously include Copper Ridge and The Copper Ridge Institute in Carroll County, Buckingham’s Choice in Frederick County and William Hill Manor in Talbot County.

The American Association of Homes and Services, for the Aging (AAHSA) consists of over 5,600 not-for-profit nursing homes, continuing care retirement communities, assisted living and senior housing-facilities, and community service organizations. Afore than half of AAHSA’s members are religiously sponsored. Every day, AAHSA members serve one million older persons across the country. AAHSA is based in Washington, D.C., with field offices in Chicago, Denver and Cohoes, NY. AAHSA’s Web Site is www.aahsa.org.

Fairhaven and Copper Ridge, both members of the EMA faith-based family of retirement communities and resources, have been re-accredited by CARF–CCAC, the nation’s only accrediting body for continuing care retirement communities.

To become accredited by CARF–CCAC, a participating community must demonstrate ongoing innovation and continued conformance to standards. This means they must be committed to continuous quality improvement in their governance and administrative structures, fiscal practices, and the care and services they provide in such areas as culinary, activities, resident rights, access to services, nursing, and the overall safety and security of the community.

Participating in the accreditation process means an organization has a genuine commitment to continuous self-evaluation and performance improvement guided by an external, independent, third-party accreditation organization. Everyone within the organization—staff, residents, and the board of directors—is involved in the accreditation process.

A community must demonstrate continued conformance on an annual basis before being reaccredited by CARF–CCAC. More information on this accreditation may be found at www.carf.org/aging.

Belonging to the EMA faith-based family of retirement communities and resources, Fairhaven is a not-for-profit, full-service life care retirement community with 314 residential living apartments and cottages, 34 assisted living apartments, and a 77 bed comprehensive nursing care center. Also belonging to the EMA faith-based family, Copper Ridge is a not-for-profit full service outpatient and residential community for the memory impaired. Copper Ridge has 60 assisted living suites and a 66 bed comprehensive nursing care center. Other members of the EMA family not mentioned previously include The Copper Ridge Institute in Carroll County, Buckingham’s Choice in Frederick County and William Hill Manor in Talbot County. •

Fairhaven, a member of the EMA faith-based family of retirement communities and resources, achieved four out of a possible five stars in Medicare’s new Five-Star Quality Rating System. The ratings were announced on December 18, 2008.

“The star ratings of EMA’s faith-based communities truly reflect the dedication of EMA employees and management to the mission of serving aging persons,” said James Melhorn, EMA Chief Executive Officer.

“The star ratings of EMA’s faith-based communities truly reflect the dedication of EMA employees and management to the mission of serving aging persons,” said James Melhorn, EMA Chief Executive Officer.

The Health Inspections are a comprehensive look at all major aspects of care in a nursing home, and includes about 180 different items. Health Inspections also include onsite visits by trained surveyors from the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality, and Federal quality checks.

The Nursing Home Staffing rating looks at the overall number of staff compared to the number of residents. It also takes into consideration the acuity level of the nursing home residents in each nursing home, as that affects staffing needs. •