North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/28595
March/April 2011 SENIOR MOMENTS A report on our progress By Mark Kolada
Administrator WhiteStone
During my tenure as executive director of WhiteStone: A
Masonic and Eastern Star Community, one of the truly unique experiences of the position is participating in the annual Masonic district meetings that spread from Murphy to Manteo. It is an excellent opportunity to learn what is going on around the fra- ternity, enjoy fellowship, receive some inspiration from the grand master, and share the continuing successes of WhiteStone with a captive audience. I highly encourage each Mason in North Caro- lina to attend a district meeting. You won’t be disappointed. How- ever, for those of you who may not get a chance to attend, below is a summary of my district meeting report. WhiteStone: A Masonic and Eastern Star Community, is a
continuing care retirement community located in Greensboro es- tablished in 1912 to meet the retirement and long term care needs of its fraternal brothers and sisters. Tis mission continues today stronger than ever. WhiteStone consists of several housing options and levels of
care for seniors, including independent living, residential living, skilled nursing, dementia care, as well as a home care. Te com- munity has approximately 260 residents currently, approximate- ly 80% that are fraternal. Amenities of the community include on-site chapel, indoor pool, local transportation, gated security, on-site medical clinic and pharmacy, full activity program, and a dining room that provides three meals a day. In 2010, the com- munity averaged over 97% occupancy for its Care Center and almost 93% in the Residential and Independent Living area. As a result of this high occupancy and emphasis on expense control, the community was in the black and had positive cash flow for the third straight year. In 2010, WhiteStone once again continued to pursue its charitable mission of providing financial assistance to its sis-
ters and brothers in need. Despite tough economic times, Ma- sonic and Eastern Star members continued to find it in their hearts and wallets to show their love and support, with to- tal contributions (including estates, lodge/chapter donations, foundation support, etc.) received at approximately $1.7M. Contributions from Masonic sources (including blue lodge contributions and Masonic Foundation support) totaled over $463,000. We appreciate and make use of every dollar to pro- vide financial assistance to fraternally related residents in the form of assisting to pay for things such as room and board, medical supplies, pharmacy, and other expenses that they oth- erwise could not afford to pay for by themselves. Currently, the community subsidizes approximately 69 Masonically related residents at a total estimated cost of $1,500,000. Of these 69 residents, 32 are in a Medicaid nursing home bed partially subsidized by the state and WhiteStone, one resident is in the process of applying for Medicaid and is fully subsidized by the community, six are in the Special Care Unit, and 30 residents live in residential apartments receiving financial assistance. In addition to these subsidies that either the WhiteStone or state provides, each resident also contributes as much as they can afford toward the costs of their care. In addition to financial support WhiteStone provides its
fraternal residents, there is also an “adopt-a-resident” program, whereby various Masonic lodges and Eastern Star chapters adopt a fraternal resident and provide gifts, cards, and other support directly to those individuals on an ongoing basis. In 2010, 88 residents had been adopted by 91 Eastern Star Chapter and 34 Masonic Lodges. In an effort to begin developing an outreach program, which seeks to assist those fraternal members in need throughout the whole state, in October 2009 the medical equipment loan/infor- mation hotline program was initiated at WhiteStone, whereby the community loans out extra equipment it may have to fraternal members. During 2010, more than 20 pieces of medical equip- ment were loaned for varying lengths of time. Ten hours of infor-
Holly Springs lodges enjoy visit HOLLY SPRINGS — Holly Springs 115
had two things they wanted to brag about after their February 22 meeting. Tey raised three new members that night all on their own. It was the first time in some years they have done a third degree without help from other lodges. Te second milestone was the presence of
Guests and 115’s newest members are seen here, from left, Chaplain John McNeil; Candidate Glen Chua; Secretary Isaac Beckwith; Candidate Bobby Price; Junior Deacon Charles Whita- ker; and Candidate Tim Elderdice.
four members of Holly Springs’ Prince Hall lodge Elijah 821. It was the first visit between the two neighboring lodges. — Vinnie DeBenedetto
MILEPOSTS
mation hotline services were also provided by WhiteStone staff. To access the program, the number to call is (877) 784-9309. We ask that in order to keep our charity programs strong, that
Brothers continue to give generously, as WhiteStone will con- tinue to do as much charity as it brings in donations, so the more we receive, the more fraternal brothers and sisters we can assist. WhiteStone also continues to reinvest money to improve the
services and amenities for our residents. In April, WhiteStone renovated our old multipurpose room into a modern fitness center complete with weight machines and cardio stations for residents and staff to use. During the summer, our dining room transi- tioned from a buffet style food service to restaurant style, making the dining experience for residents and visitors more comfortable and offering more choices on the menu. Finally at year’s end work was completed on the transformation of the Linville Administra- tion building into a new state-of-the-art clubhouse for residents, featuring a new library, game room, arts and crafts area, resident store, lounge area, and new office space for staff. Moving forward in 2011, WhiteStone is pleased to announce that it is proceeding with the construction of its 46 unit Inde- pendent Living expansion. Te project has over 77% of its units pre-sold, and as of early March, was in the process of completing its application with the Department of Insurance to proceed with obtaining financing. It is expected that financing will be complete by mid-April, with construction beginning immediately after fi- nancing is closed. In 10–12 months after construction, White- Stone will have a new fellowship hall, bistro, arts and crafts area, new beauty salon, and a completely renovated rotunda lounge and main dining room.
On behalf of our 260 residents, 180 staff members, and many
more family and friends, we appreciate your continued support of WhiteStone and encourage you stop by to visit us when in Greensboro for lunch and a tour. As always, if you have any questions or need more information about the community, feel free to call me at (336) 547-2992 or email me at