Cornwall Manor Celebrates 70 years!
Lebanon, PA
10/31/2019 12:58 PM
Cornwall Manor Retirement Community was founded in 1949 by a group of Methodist clergy and laymen from the Philadelphia Conference of The United Methodist Church (now the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference), led by the Rev. Dr. Levi Zerr and Bishop Fred Pierce Corson, as a home for retired United Methodist clergy, their families and “other deserving persons.” On October 15, 1949, the first 11 residents moved into the Buckingham Mansion at The Methodist Church Home at Cornwall.
Today, Cornwall Manor’s campus spans over 195 acres and is home to 550 residents of diverse backgrounds and life experiences. During our 70 years of ministry, the mission of Cornwall Manor has not changed. We continue to offer diversified and high-quality housing, health care and related services for individuals to achieve a retirement and aging lifestyle they find fulfilling in a secure, caring and Christian environment. Remaining at the heart of our mission is benevolent care, the provision of assistance to those residents who have limited or depleted financial resources. Last year, Cornwall Manor’s total benevolent care commitment was over $1.5 million.
Cornwall Manor’s Buckingham Campus, which is the original 85-acre estate owned by generations of the Coleman family who owned and operated the Cornwall Iron Furnace, includes a variety of residential living accommodations among six apartment buildings and over 60 homes. The Buckingham Campus also features a chapel, library, walking trails, woodshop, model railroad room, thrift store as well as a newly renovated and expanded community center with meeting space and onsite dining, gift shop and convenience store, resident amenity space including a theater, recreational and craft rooms, club room with billiards tables; Wright Family Wellness Center with an indoor pool, therapeutic spa, and fitness center.
Also on the Buckingham Campus is Cornwall Manor’s onsite health care, which is comprised of outpatient therapy services, a visiting physician’s office, personal care and skilled nursing. Our personal care facility began a renovation and expansion in August 2019 to modernize the building and increase accommodations from 30 to 36. Cornwall Manor opened a new skilled nursing facility in December 2015, featuring 96 private rooms among four households that provides resident focused care. Additional future plans include adding an onsite pharmacy in our Wellness Center.
Our expanded campus, The Woods at Cornwall Manor, is less than a mile from the Buckingham Campus and the two campuses intersect via the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail. The Woods, which is situated on 105 wooded acres, has over 90 residential living homes. Our newest neighborhood of homes, The Pines, began excavation and site work in fall 2018 and the official Pines groundbreaking took place on October 1, 2019. The Pines will feature 30 single homes with two-car garages and great rooms ranging in square footage from 1,650-2,425. Upgrade options are available, allowing individuals to customize their homes. Future plans for The Woods include a Clubhouse, planned for 2021.
Cornwall Manor continues to be a resource for the surrounding community by offering support groups, meeting space, educational seminars, speakers for civic and church groups, volunteer opportunities and a community concert series. The volunteer program at Cornwall Manor has an abundance of opportunities for residents, church and community members to become more involved. Over 420 people were recognized for contributing over 31,500 hours of volunteer time in 2018.
Additional 70th anniversary milestones Cornwall Manor has celebrated in 2019 include the promotion of Executive Vice President, Lee A. Stickler, to Cornwall Manor’s sixth president in March 2019. His predecessor, Steven D. Hassinger retired from Cornwall Manor after 40 years of service. Cornwall Manor was also named Best Retirement Community, Best Personal Care and Best Nursing Home by the readers of the Lebanon Daily News for the ninth consecutive year. Corson Hall Personal Care celebrated their eighth deficiency-free inspection from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and our Health Center is a 5-star rated facility from the Federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and received a deficiency-free inspection from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
