Friendship Manor celebrates past, future renovations

“Our history is rich, but our future is even richer.” That’s the word from Friendship Manor CEO and President Ted Pappas on Thursday, Sept. 26, as he helped the retirement community in Rock Island celebrate its 45th year. Hundreds of people attended the Sapphire Celebration, which featured music, food, drinks and updates on big improvements […]

“Our history is rich, but our future is even richer.” That’s the word from Friendship Manor CEO and President Ted Pappas on Thursday, Sept. 26, as he helped the retirement community in Rock Island celebrate its 45th year.

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Hundreds of people attended the Sapphire Celebration, which featured music, food, drinks and updates on big improvements in the works at Friendship Manor. “We want to show off what the manor has to offer now and what the coming years will bring,” Mr. Pappas said in a news release before the celebration. Those plans include about $12.5 million in improvements that have started at the manor. Those upgrades are the result of the largest capital campaign ever at Friendship Manor – called “Re-establishing Friendship 2024.” The project was announced last year. Some of the planned updates include:

• A new, state-of-the-art therapy and fitness center with walking track.
• Opening of The Chrysalis Suites at Silver Cross – two dedicated end-of-life suites for the comfort of residents and their families.
• Expanding and updating the dining options at the 1209 Bistro.
• Improvements to Silver Cross skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, including an expanded dining room, new spa room and new hard surface flooring.
• New outdoor walking path with a gazebo.
• Infrastructure improvements, including deck repairs, new water heaters, replacement windows, updates to HVAC, new chiller and backup generator power and more.

During Thursday’s celebration, Heather Stancliff, director of sales and marketing at Friendship Manor, said work expanding the bistro dining room started last week and could be done by the first of the year.  “Everything in this project is going really well,” she added. The first phase of the renovations could be done in November, according to information from Friendship Manor. Some of the manor’s renovation plans were on display during Thursday’s celebration.  The renovated and expanded Bistro area that was presented by Ulstad Architects of Dubuque, Iowa. Thursday’s Sapphire Celebration was also about celebrating the manor’s proud history. Friendship Manor’s current campus was founded by the Illinois Branch of the Kings Daughters and Sons in 1979, an international Christian group founded in 1886 whose members have established hospitals, homes for the elderly and child care centers throughout the country. In a news release, Friendship Manor said it is the only continuing care retirement community in the Illinois Quad Cities, offering all levels of care for seniors from independent through skilled nursing. “It’s a gem in the city of Rock Island. We have cared for thousands of seniors over the years,” said Mr. Pappas on Thursday. The people who help care for those seniors were also honored on Thursday. In fact, two of those employees – Ronnie Logue and Connie Morse – were honored as they each have 43 years of service at Friendship Manor. Both started work at the manor within a few days of each other, with Mr. Logue having a slight seniority. After the celebration, a tree was planted on Friendship Manor grounds in honor of the two longtime employees. Ms. Morse, a certified nursing assistant (CNA), said she has stayed at the manor for many years because it’s a good place to work with good people. Mr. Logue, a housekeeper at Friendship Manor, said the manor has in many ways become his family. “It’s like a family here. … It’s a great place. They’ve always supported me.” he added. Friendship Manor has about 265 residents, including about 55 residents who live in the independent living section of the facility. It has about 300 employees, said Ms. Stancliff.