BY KEVIN J. DONALDSON
Crossville Life Features Editor
“From its beginning a couple of years ago, meeting the growing needs of our senior population has been the driving force behind the Phase II expansion of our campus,” says T.C. Fraser, Administrator at Good Samaritan Society-Fairfield Glade.
The Good Samaritan Society’s campus here provides a wide range of senior lifestyle options, from cottages to assisted living to long-term care.
The Phase II expansion started as an estimated $28.5 million project, but could wind up being closer to $31 million by its completion, Fraser said, and will have a significant long-term economic impact on Cumberland County.
Phase I, initiated in 2009 and completed in 2011, was a $24 million project. The estimated financial impact of Phase I was $22 million, Fraser said, with an estimated $16 million in ongoing economic impact.
“What the Phase II expansion is all about is meeting the growing needs of Crossville, greater Cumberland County and the Upper Cumberland area,” Fraser said.
“Since our campus opened in 2011, we’ve recognized the need for additional accommodations and services for area residents, and that’s what Phase II is all about.” Fraser said. “We’re developing products, services and approaches that will enable the Good Samaritan Society to improve the well-being of seniors and their families for years to come in Cumberland County and the surrounding areas.
“We see a need for the types of services and approaches we provide not only in Cumberland County, but across a good portion of Tennessee.” Fraser said.
Beautifully-appointed facilities
The Good Samaritan Society’s Fairfield Glade campus provides a wide range of senior lifestyle options on the campus in beautifully-appointed facilities that would rival luxury hotel or resort accommodations.
Residents can choose from a variety of senior living services, including Cottages and Senior Housing with Services apartments, Assisted Living Apartments. They also offer Rehabilitation Services and Long-Term Care.
In addition to the Phase II expansion, some of the existing facilities will be remodeled and expanded to better serve the needs of our residents, Fraser said.
“We are honored to serve the people who choose to make Fairfield Glade campus home, and their choice is a responsibility we take very seriously. We want our residents to feel loved valued and at peace,” Fraser said. “Over the past 90-plus years, Good Samaritan Society has become the nation’s largest not-for-profit provider of senior care and services, with more than 240 centers across the country. We feel honored and blessed to be a part of that nationwide effort right here in Cumberland County.”
Wide range of services
Good Samaritan Society-Fairfield Glade’s “continuum of care” offers a wide range of options and services, said Darcie Roach, marketing director at the local campus, including:
• Cottages,
• Senior living apartments, with services,
• Assisted living,
• Post-acute rehabilitation services,
• Long-term care, and
• Inpatient and outpatient therapies.
The Phase II expansion will include additional senior housing with services apartments, assisted-living apartments, and skilled units. The number of all these units added during Phase II (and the total number available after completion) are:
• 54 senior living apartments with services (96),
• 28 assisted-living apartments (52), and
• 30 new skilled units, long-term and short-term (60).
A 50-seat theater, larger dining room, expanded common areas, increased fitness gym and an inpatient/outpatient therapy center are also included in Phase II, Roach said.
Current residents will have priority on placement in new expansion facilities.
There are a wide variety of services and floor plans available for both the apartments and cottages. Cottages floor plans as large as 1,500 square feet are available, while apartment floor plans range from approximately 750 to 1,500 square feet.
There are currently 130 residents at the Good Samaritan Society-Fairfield Glade location. Depending on how many rooms end up with double occupancy in some areas, there could be up to 160 new residents in the expansion, Roach said.
Helping seniors with choices
“Change is our only constant in life, but it can be scary,” Fraser said. “Whether you find yourself facing a world of new opportunities, or a world unexpectedly surrounded by new medical jargon, change can be difficult. We want people to know that you don’t have to make decisions about your new life on your own.”
“The Good Samaritan Society believes no matter who you are, where you are in life, or what your circumstances may be, you deserve to live a life filled with purpose, hope and meaning,” he said.
“Nationwide, our not-for-profit organization provides 30,000 people each year with senior housing, assisted living options, skilled nursing care, therapy and rehabilitation, specialized dementia care, in-home care and monitoring, spiritual and social activities, and other services to help seniors live the fullest possible life,” Roach said.
“Our goal is to provide the care people need, the services people want, and the love we all desire,” she said. “Our staff members are challenged to follow Christ’s example of showing compassion, respect, honesty, acceptance, love and joy to everyone we meet. It’s something we’ve been doing for nearly a century across the country, and something we feel blessed to be doing here in Cumberland County.”
Fraser has deep roots in
Good Samaritan Society
Although a newcomer to Cumberland County, along with wife, Angela (a registered nurse at Cumberland Medical Center), Fraser is no newcomer to the Good Samaritan Society. He worked as a wellness director at a campus in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for eight years before entering the organization’s “administrator in training” program. The Frasers fell in love with the area on a trip here and are excited to be in Cumberland County.
“Coming aboard in the middle of an expansion this big is not an easy task,” Fraser said. “But God is doing great things here on our campus and our residents and staff are such blessings that we will continue to grow as God planned.
“My roots with the Society have grown in my heart from the very beginning of my life, as my mother was an administrator for the Good Samaritan Society for many years, eventually retiring after 42 years of service,” Fraser said. “Growing up with the Society has made me who I am today. I have a passion for caring for people and living out the GSS motto that, ‘In Christ’s Love, Everyone is Someone.’”
Fraser is a graduate of the University of Sioux Falls with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. He played football during his years at USF, was a three-time All-American, and received his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Health Care Administration.
Economic impact of Good Samaritan
Cumberland County residents get the opportunity to see the impact Good Samaritan Society has on the lives of seniors and their families, Fraser said, but there’s been another type of impact, too.
“Our campus is a place where people are loved, valued, and feel at home and at peace,” he said. “Not only have we been able to have this impact on our residents and their families, but we’ve been able to have a significant economic impact on our county and region.”
When Phase I was completed, over 60 new full-time jobs and more than 20 part-time positions were created, generating an estimated “ongoing economic impact of around $16 million,” he said.
“Phase II will drive our total campus capital investment up near the $55 million level,” Fraser said. “We’re still in the process of figuring the ongoing economic impact of this phase, but it will be well into the millions of dollars, and we’ll be creating a few dozen more jobs.”
“We feel very blessed to accomplish our primary goal, which is to have a positive impact on people’s lives, and to be able to impact our home county’s economy in a positive way, too,” Fraser said.
“Good Samaritan-Fairfield Glade is a great place to work, and we’ve been able to attract a fine staff of people committed to making people’s lives better, and we’ll have several more opportunities for people to work here when Phase II is open,” he said.
“We offer a wide variety of daily experiences that tap into the rich culture of our area,” Roach said. “It’s about health care, spiritual care and living life to the fullest. We try to meet people wherever they are on the road of life and to provide housing and other services to meet their needs. We invite you to come for a visit and see why so many people call the Good Samaritan Society home.”
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For more information on Good Samaritan Society services and facilities, call 931-456-1576 or visit www.good-sam.com/fairfieldglade.
