St John's Lutheran Ministries

St. John's Operations - St. John's Lutheran Ministries, Inc. is a ministry to the world given by 25 local Lutheran (ELCA) ownership congregations who are committed to caring for people regardless of religious preference, race/national origin, gender/age/marital status, diagnosis/disability, or financial status. St. John's began as a HUD facility (115 beds) in 1963 and has grown into one of the largest providers of senior housing and long-term care services in the State of Montana. We offer a full continuum of care providing low-income housing, assisted living, skilled nursing, and independent living, as well as childcare, rehabilitation/home health, child adoption services and many other support services to enhance the lives of those we serve. Continued on Schedule OOverall, we served 742 seniors on our campus in 2022 as well as 1,594 seniors in outlying communities. The below are examples of that support. Skilled Nursing Services - We operate a 46-bed skilled nursing facility, 36 beds located in two separate transitional care units, as well as 65 skilled nursing beds located in five individual cottages. During 2022, St. John's nursing division cared for 330 residents providing 41,096 patient days of care. St. John's has proven to be an innovative leader in nursing home care through the implementation of programs such as Eden Alternative, Comfort Care Vigil Ministry, and the Green House cottage model with an open door to other service providers from around the country to tour our facilities and exchange information and service delivery ideas. Two principals have contributed to the success of the cottage model of care, 1) the creation of a home environment serving a small group of elders and, 2) the role of the Elder Sharaths ("servant" in Hebrew) in the cottage and the extensive training/education given them to prepare them for this new role. The organization, operations and delivery of care within this recent paradigm are radically different from those of the traditional nursing home. Dementia Care Cottages - Located next to the nursing facility are two individual cottages (24 beds) which specialize in assisted living dementia care. In 2022, the two dementia care cottages provided 6,730 days of care to 32 individuals. Retirement Services In 2021, residents living in our former HUD retirement facility were relocated to our new 56-unit low-income housing tax credit project or to other facilities on campus. The completion of the tax credit project provided a rejuvenated independent living space for our elders, while still giving them access to our activities program, pastoral care program, and nursing amenities if needed. We served 67 residents in our new facility in 2022.Other Facilities - The Crossings, a St. John's facility located in Laurel, Montana, includes a 12 unit assisted living dementia care cottage, 13 assisted living apartments, 24 independent living apartments and 4 townhomes. The Crossings served 67 individuals with 17,940 days of care provided in 2022. The Willows, a St. John's facility located in Red Lodge, MT has two connected assisted living cottages (24 beds total) and served 13 individuals with 3,852 days of care provided. Medicaid Residents - St. John's provides services to all people in need including Medicaid residents. The cost of such care is much greater than the related reimbursement. In 2022, St. John's continued as one of the largest providers of Medicaid long-term care services in Yellowstone County, Montana providing 19,303 days of care to Medicaid residents. The gap between our cost to provide care to Medicaid recipients and the reimbursement we received in the nursing facility during 2022 is an estimated $2,300,000.Home & Community Based Services/Rural Outreach - Through our rehabilitation department, we served 110 patients. These patients were located at a hospital a distance of 50 miles from Billings. In addition, we contracted with our joint venture, Home Based Services Initiative, LLC to provide rehabilitation services for their homebound clients; in 2022, we served 607 clients. Center For Generations - We continue to provide child and infant daycare to our staff members and the community, many of whom cannot afford, nor have access to safe, quality childcare. St. John's Center for Generations is accredited which assures high quality early childhood developmental programs for the children we serve. In 2022, the Center for Generations served 81 children (53 community families and 28 staff families). The program helps create a nurturing environment through intergenerational activities for our seniors as well. During 2022, St. John's subsidized $140,000 of direct costs to operate the Center for Generations. St. John's United Family Services - With four offices throughout Montana, Family Services has been serving the people of need in Montana and Northern Wyoming as part of St. John's since 2010, "Joining Hearts in Hope". In 2022 Family Services was involved in bringing hope to the lives of 84 adoptive families. We assisted 136 birth parents and related family members and had a role in the placement of 4 children in forever homes. In addition, Family Services worked with 42 adoptable children through the Wendy's Wonderful Kids program as well as 128 individuals in our professional counseling program. In 2022, St. John's subsidized $83,000 in direct costs to operate Family Services, which is offset in part by contributions made through the St. John's Foundation.Other Subsidies St. John's also provides college scholarships to many of our staff wishing to pursue an education in the healthcare and social work fields. Awarded college scholarships in 2022 were 18 students totaling $27,000. Our Pastoral Care staff administers an employee crisis fund providing cash and bill payment to employees for emergency needs - a total of $28,000 for 61 employees in 2022. Community Engagement - Other benefits St. John's supplies to the community include free programs (health fairs and seminars on aging issues), staff assistance to other 501(c) (3) organizations during normal work hours, free meeting space to other organizations within the community, clinical training of nurses and physician assistants, internships for other medical disciplines, as well as participation in the fund raisers of other community not-for-profits. The St. John's United 2022 Summer Concert Series hosted six free community concerts with close to 10,000 people in attendance. These concerts provide important community socialization for our residents as well as an opportunity to give back to the community. St. John's Lutheran Ministries, Inc. supports and encourages health care services by providing financial and managerial consulting assistance to affiliated not-for-profit organizations. We provide management services to Sapphire Lutheran Homes (Hamilton, Montana) as well as our joint ventures Missions United, Inc. (including Mission Ridge, Vista and the Wyndstone) and Home Based Services Initiative, LLC (home health and hospice).SummaryOperating St. John's Lutheran Ministries, Inc. contributes to the organization's exempt purpose in a manner designed to satisfy the primary needs of aged, handicapped, and disadvantaged persons, providing safe housing, health care, and financial security. The need for safe housing is satisfied as St. John's provides residential facilities that are specifically designed to meet the special needs of the elderly. The need for health care is satisfied as St. John's provides long-term health care and rehabilitation in an environment designed to maintain the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the residents. St. John's provides financial security by 1) maintaining, in the residence, any person who becomes unable to pay the standard charges and 2) provides its services at the lowest possible cost to remain a viable provider of services to the elderly in the community.While not an all-inclusive dollar amount of total community benefits provided and without an attempt to measure the high quality of services provided, almost $2,600,000 of direct community benefit (as detailed in this report) was provided by St. John's to the communities we are privileged to serve.