North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/5190
May/June 2009 The North Carolina Mason Page 7
Mileposts
Senior MomeNts
Your update from WhiteStone
By Mark Kolada
Administrator
WhiteStone
Let me help Masonry's charities
❍ e North Carolina Masonic Foundation
❍ WhiteStone (MESH)
❍ e Masonic Home for Children
❍ Send information about wills and bequests.
❍ Please have someone contact me.
My name
Address
City State Zip
Phone My lodge
In memory of (optional)
Address
To assure that your gift is properly credited to the
fund of your choice, please make the check payable
to that charity.
Mail to e Grand Lodge of North Carolina,
PO Box 6506, Raleigh, NC 27628.
I know that spring and winter are behind us when the aza-
leas, dogwoods, and other plants, and flowers are in full bloom
at WhiteStone. If you have never seen our campus during the
spring, it really is a beautiful site to behold. And with the start of
spring I wanted to take this opportunity to give you an update on
WhiteStone so far in 2009.
Resident satisfaction survey: One of the first exciting things to
happen in the new year was the announcement of the biannual resi-
dent satisfaction survey. Over the past few years our staff has worked
hard in each of their respective departments to improve quality and
increase customer service for our residents. In December, a second
resident satisfaction survey was conducted as a follow up to the pre-
vious one completed in October of 2006. e participation rate was
outstanding, with 99% of our residents responding. I am happy to
report that the survey results were favorable and reflected increased
satisfaction with most of the improvements made over the past few
years. Overall, resident satisfaction improved from 67% in 2006 to
88% in 2008. Areas seeing the biggest improvement included food
satisfaction going from 37% in 2006 to 85% in 2008, residential
care improving from 59% to 95%, outreach services from 33% to
88%, landscaping from 54% to 85%, Board of Directors from 30%
to 69%, and Care and Wellness Center from 61% to 81%. Special
recognition goes to our receptionist services, residential care, house-
keeping, office manager, chaplain, marketing department, transpor-
tation and maintenance department for all achieving 95% or higher
for resident satisfaction. While we are excited to see progress, the
staff at WhiteStone is already busy putting together plans and ini-
tiatives to continue to improve, with hopes to increase resident sat-
isfaction even more over the next two years.
Financial: So far, through the first four months of 2009,
WhiteStone continues to be blessed with steady occupancy and
census, and as a result, the first quarter has seen continued finan-
cial improvement. At the end of April, the census in our Care and
Wellness center averaged 97%, while our Independent Living has
increased to 96%. Fiscally, the home is doing its best to reduce
expenses during this difficult economic time for the country. As
a result of these efforts, WhiteStone is approximately $100,000
ahead of its budget and hopes to continue its progress for the
remainder of the year. First quarter donations were down by ap-
proximately $27,000 from the same period last year.
Development: While the last several months have provided
a challenging environment for marketing the new $30 million+
expansion/renovation at WhiteStone, progress continues to be
made on all fronts. To date, 20 apartments and four houses/
duplexes have been pre-sold, with prospective residents putting
down ten percent of their future entrance fees as a deposit. e
months of November through January were slow for sales, how-
ever since February, the sales pace has picked up significantly. Our
staff looks forward to having a productive spring and summer. It
is anticipated that two remaining houses/duplexes will be sold
soon, and construction of those units will begin in the summer. It
is also expected that the renovation of the main dining room and
state of the art fitness area in our Care and Wellness Center will
begin in the fall of this year. In order to break ground for the new
construction and solidify financing, WhiteStone needs to reach
its goal of 56 apartments pre-sold, which it expects to achieve in
late 2009 or early 2010. To stay updated on WhiteStone's prog-
ress, check out our new website at