LIFE Butler County celebrates 15th anniversary
LIFE Butler County, an independent-living facility for the aged, celebrated its 15th anniversary Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 18.
The anniversary event featured tours of the 15,000-square-foot facility as well as a buffet line and live music.
One person who took advantage of the tour was Rich Wenzel, who came with his wife, Mary.
"We were advised that this would be an excellent program for the elderly,“ Wenzel said. ”We thought we would like to come and see, and it looks like a tremendous program.“
LIFE — which is an acronym for Living Independence For the Elderly — started in Butler in 2008 thanks to David Fenoglietto and Cindy Lytle. The two previously had formed a similar program in Beaver County which had proven to be a success. The building which now houses LIFE, located on West Diamond Street, was formerly the county assistance office.
“They believed in giving individuals the opportunity to remain in the community,” said Marla Frailey, the health center director at LIFE Butler County. “So often you hear, ‘well, you need to go to a nursing home now.’ Well, no, they don't. If you're enrolled in a LIFE program, we care for you in the home.”
The kind of care LIFE is offering is officially known as the PACE program: Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. It got its start in the Chinatown community of San Francisco during the early 1970s and quickly spread across the United States.
Over the last 15 years, LIFE Butler County — which boasted only three participants and five employees at its inception — has grown considerably. In 2016, the facility expanded from its original 7,000-square-foot footprint to 15,000 square feet.
“The staff that we've brought on board over the years...a lot of them are still with us,” Frailey said. “All of the managers have been here for at least 10 years, which I think is incredible.”
Lutheran SeniorLife, the operators of LIFE Butler County, operates similar programs in Beaver, Lawrence, and Armstrong County.
