By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
Walking into the crowded lobby of The Summit at First Hill Jewish retirement community can be a tricky proposition with so many residents jetting from one class or activity to another.
Just be sure not to get in their way this month as the vibrant senior center celebrates its 10th anniversary, honoring those who call it home as well as its longtime staff for their dedication, service, and commitment.
Whether it’s a painting class, a Zumba exercise class, or a “happy hour” in the dining room before dinner, apparently, many of the 130 residents of the 12-story modern urban retirement and assisted-living hub are not slowing down.
“I always had a dream that we should have a retirement home in Seattle,” said Joshua Gortler, the longtime, now-retired CEO of The Kline Galland Center and Affiliates, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 3 to kick off the month-long anniversary celebration. “Everyone said it would never happen.”
The credit, Gortler said, “goes to the Jewish community of Seattle, which always, always supported Kline Galland.”
Gathered in The Summit’s sanctuary were nearly all of the 130 residents and 20 of the original staff that were hired in 2001 and continue to work there.
“The staff does really heroic work every day,” said Jeff Cohen, Kline Galland’s current chief executive officer, who joined the organization four years ago.
The capital campaign more than a decade ago to build The Summit raised more than $20 million, which paid for the property and the common areas in the building, while the Washington State Housing Finance Commission underwrote a $27.5 million tax-free municipal bond that provided for all outstanding construction costs.
The first resident to move into The Summit in 2001, Ada Ash, 95, and the newest tenant to move in, David Franklin, who is in his mid-90s, cut the ribbon to celebrate the anniversary together. The crowd toasted with glasses of sparkling cider and cake adorned with a photo of The Summit at First Hill building perched on top.
The facility offers all kosher meals, several public spaces available for events, a wellness clinic, a wide array of recreational activities, diverse opportunities for Jewish education, a synagogue, a library, an exercise room, an outdoor terrace, a spa, a café, a hair salon and a parking garage.
All month, visitors can browse original artwork from more than 40 Summit residents who have honed their skills in the painting classes offered there, currently on display in the lobby areas throughout the main floor of the building. A set of commemorative note cards will be offered for sale as a fundraiser for The Summit from the reproductions of the art from 13 residents.
“The beauty of The Summit is that our resources have expanded,” said Beth Cordova, assistant activities director at The Summit and a social worker by profession. “We have a philosophy of active living, and sparkle and spirit. Also, the residents love the staff.”
Cordova said part of the community’s mission is to provide a sense of richness and diversity that encompasses the many areas of Jewish culture represented at The Summit, including native Seattleites, East and West Coast transplants, and Ashkenazim and Sephardim.
And to accommodate different levels of observance, The Summit conducts “liberal” Shabbat services in the sanctuary just off the main lobby early on a Friday afternoon, and traditional services for more observant Jews in the same synagogue, just before sundown.
“The goals are to continue to maintain the same level of excellence and communication,” added Cordova, “integrating technological aids for aging [Baby Boomers], and providing a warm and loving place with a sense of belonging while making the most of what they have.”
Esther Friend, the director at The Summit, oversees the day-to-day operations there. She often works 12-hour days that include fielding concerns from residents in what she described as a “fluid environment” where safety and dealing with frailty issues are her priorities for the residents who live there.
“I try to lead with compassion and a listening ear so that residents feel that this is their home,” Friend said. “People now have more challenges because seniors are waiting longer and aging in their homes for a longer period of time. They are older and they are motivated [to move in] by an event.”
Friend anticipates the trend toward home care will continue to increase. Over the last five years, the Summit has been innovating and offering community packages to seniors who can’t continue to manage the cleaning duties for the Passover holiday. The Summit rents available units for 10 days during the Passover holiday and offers a completely kosher-for-Passover unit. It’s all part of the package, employees say.
“It’s a warm and wonderful environment, easy to present and to rent,” said Trudi Arshon-Rosenbaum, The Summit’s community relations director, a third-generation Seattleite herself.
Since the average age of The Summit resident is approximately 86, with some of the residents approaching 100, administrators believe the goal, increasingly, is to accommodate the ongoing intellectual and spiritual development of the seniors who live there and give them a continuum of health care that accommodates all of their needs.
“We want to be more involved with family members who need our support through more outreach to adult children, Jewish programming, enrichment, and nursing,” said Friend. “The facilities that will be the most successful are the ones that listen to the residents most closely.”