NORTH NEWTON — Kidron Bethel Village is celebrating a century in the senior care and living industry this summer.
What is known today as Kidron Bethel Village began in 1926 as the Bethel Home for the Aged, an auxiliary ministry of the Bethel Deaconess Hospital. The need for such a community had been evident for nearly two decades. Since the hospital’s opening, requests had steadily grown for both temporary and long-term care for older adults.
By the early 1950s, state regulations for nursing homes became more stringent. Bethel Home for the Aged worked to remain in compliance with evolving standards and licensure requirements.
In 1977, a group led by John Esau, who today is an independent living resident at Kidron Bethel Village, proposed a new type of retirement community. The group pursued a loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop low-income rental housing here. The name Kidron, Inc., was chosen.
The subsidized housing apartments of Kidron, consisting of six four-plexes and 55 apartments in a central building, were completed in 1982. By then, Kidron and the Bethel Home for the Aged were having discussions regarding bringing the operations of both missions under the same organization.
The first two independent living duplex units were constructed in 1985. By 1989, plans were in place for eight duplex townhomes and the 36-unit apartment building of Village Heights,and a long-term care unit. Bethel Health Care Center opened Sept. 12, 1991, and 59 residents from Bethel Home for the Aged moved in a single day to the new community.
Today, Kidron Bethel Village is home to more than 350 residents across three levels of care – independent living, assisted living and long-term health care and also serves the wider community through Bluestem Therapy, short-term rehabilitation, the Bluestem Wellness Center and The Local Table restaurant.
A longer version of this article originally appeared in The Post, which is published by Bluestem Communities.
