The Origins of the Wheel Chair Home - 1970 - 1979

The pace of change escalates for the Wheel Chair Home in the 1970's. Despite updates in the 1960,'s the pressures increase from two major sources:
running a modern care facility in old buildings, and meeting strict new regulations.

"Everything is breaking down," wrote co-Administrators Isabelle Kramer and Pauline Thomson in September 1970. Their reports through the early 1970's mention ongoing repairs and the need for over $60,000 of work to meet stricter Federal Medicaid regulations.

The Wheel Chair Home in the 1970's operates under the State Hospital Code, as it is classified a 28-bed Nursing Home (infirmary care) and 56-bed Health Related Unit (supportive care.)

For the residents of the 1970's, every Thursday presented the opportunity to participate in a Workshop to create crafts for the yearly handmade articles sale. Mrs. Alt, a teacher from the Kenmore adult education department, conducted the class. Service club parties, bible study, sing longs, visits from Brownie troops and girl scouts, and the monthly birthday party filled the calendar.

The Home holds a newsletter-naming contest for the resident newsletter, and the first issue of the "Sparkler" publishes in September 1972. A "Do You Remember" column in the November 1972 "Sparkler" asks if residents remember when "Street cars stopped where you were waiting?"

Minutes from the August 14, 1972 Board Meeting note that the new Medicaid rates are $18.56 per day for the Nursing Home and $11.05 per day for Health Related care.

Into the 1970's, the Board of Directors continued to approve admissions to the home, reviewing each applicant. In February 1970, the Board rescinds the policy of only admitting residents who are ambulatory (capable of walking on their own), and decides to admit those needing nursing care into available rooms. In 1970 the board also investigates "the question of our status as a nursing home as defined by state law."

The Junior Board discontinues the long tradition of wheel chair rentals in September 1972 and donates the remaining five chairs to the Home.

In October 1972, the President, Mrs. Anna Brooks, suggested the formation of a Long Range Planning Board "to think about the future of the home." That Board forms in February 1973.

In 1973, the Board of Directors heard the report of the Finance Committee, which was considering the purchase of the YWCA building next door. The Board decides to purchase the building for $60,000. At the same meeting, a motion is "made and seconded that the davenport in the solarium be recovered in a beige shade." The motion carries.

In April 1973, the Admissions Committee reported, "we need residents who can pay their full cost in order to meet our costs." The waiting list for admissions continues to grow, with more demand for nursing beds.
In June 1974, the home hires a new Administrator, Grant Walsh. One of Grant Walsh's first actions was to hire a professional business manager: Mr. Edward Gray. Mr. Walsh notes in his report to the Board "Mr. Gray has assured me that he would be interested in at least several years of employment with the Wheel Chair Home."

The next few years are pivotal ones for the organization. With a long history of adapting to changes in the community, the Board of Directors recognized the need to modernize. With the support of the Board, Mr. Walsh immediately made many changes, including
• computerizing payroll with the help of Computer Task Group,
• reviewing wages, changing purchasing arrangements, and
• reinvigorating the Long Range Planning Committee to consider the future.

In 1975, Mr. Walsh asked the Board to consider changing the organization's name as "to those not familiar with our facility our name comes out of the age of poor houses and asylums."

Wages for Nurses aides, dietary aides and housekeepers were $2.10 per hour in 1975. RNs started at $4.20 per hour.

In the same year, the organization celebrates its 65th Anniversary and a full-page ad in the "Record Advertiser" touts the work. A Residents' Tea marks the beginning of a series of celebrations.

In June 1976, the Board of Directors approves a new Admissions policy. With the new policy, the Board itself no longer reviews and approves each admission to the Home. This ends a 66-year tradition. It also streamlines the process, making it easier for new residents and patients to move to the home.

In February 1977, Grant Walsh writes, "We are at a historical point in the development of the Wheel Chair Home:
1. The Board of Directors is being reorganized;
2. Construction planning is ready to begin;
3. We will be going to the community for support in a fund raising effort."

As he is leaving the organization, he also expresses his "mixed feelings about not being here for it." With Walsh's departure, the Board appoints Edward Gray as Administrator.

In 1977, for the first time in the history of the Wheel Chair Home, men are members of the Board of Directors.

Recognizing that the building that had been home for so long could no longer meet their needs, the Long Range Planning Committee begins a search for a new site. After an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Horace Mann Elementary School, the Wheel Chair Home purchased land from St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in June 1977 with the intention of building a new facility. The purchase was contingent on
• approval of plans by the Department of Health and
• rezoning of the property.

Local residents oppose rezoning the new site, as they fear sewer overloads. The "Certificate of Need" approval needed from the State to begin the project delays the final sale. The closing date finally happens on March 20, 1979.

In the meantime, the state health department notified the Wheel Chair Home that the proximity of the Eberhardt Mansion (within 12 feet) posed a fire and smoke danger to the residents. The Home announced plans to demolish the Eberhardt Mansion in October 1977. Editorials ask "Save Eberhardt House" and letters to the editor say "Save Landmarks." The YWCA and Tonawanda-Kenmore Historical Society mount a drive opposing the move.

The option presented to the Wheel Chair Home that would allow them to save the next-door mansion is to cinderblock and close all of the windows facing the other property. Norman Joslin, the Home's attorney calls this option "imprisonment for those who are bedridden." Mrs. Christiansen, chair of the Home's Board, tells a group "the home's 84 women residents, and their safety and health, are the deciding factors, not the mansion's historic value."

The board looks for buyers, and eventually rejects a bid of $40,000 to purchase the mansion, as the bid is $20,000 less that the Wheel Chair Home paid for the building. Despite community opposition, the mansion comes down on a cold day in December 1977.

While all of this is happening, the Home continues its fundraising drive for their new facility.

The decade ends with ground breaking on May 17, 1979 and construction of the new facility at 3333 Elmwood Avenue.