City: Gettysburg, PA

Category: Retirement

Telephone: (717) 334-6204

Address: 1075 Old Harrisburg Road

Description: Gettysburg Lutheran Retirement Village is a continuing-care retirement community (CCRC) that is part of Lutheran Social Services, an agency of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Its attractive campus less than 2 miles north of Lincoln Square features residential-living townhomes and apartments, assisted-living/personal-care rooms, and a skilled-care center. As a resident of Gettysburg Lutheran Retirement Village, your abode is a maintenance-free home, and you choose your level of activity and independence. The village has 57 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, as well as 21 one- and two-bedroom apartments. Transportation is provided for local medical needs and grocery shopping as well as for cultural and pleasure trips. If you prefer not to cook, you can take advantage of the meal service that’s available. While you’re enjoying your carefree lifestyle, you are also ensuring that if you need more help, you have admission, as space allows, to any other level of care you may need in the future. A call system is provided in the apartments to obtain medical assistance in an emergency situation, and townhome residents are provided with a telephone number to gain access to medical assistance for medical emergencies. If daily assistance is needed but daily medical care is not, the assisted-living/personal-care facility may be the ideal solution. Here you have a private or semiprivate room in a building that also has a communal dining room, a lounge area, and an outdoor walking trail. You choose your activities and daily routine with the security of knowing that support is available when you need it. The village bus is available to take you to local medical appointments and scheduled shopping and pleasure outings. A beauty shop and laundry service are available on a fee-for-service basis. Physical or mental limitations may necessitate your living in a skilled-care center for either a limited or an extended period of time. The 100-bed skilled-care center here provides skilled nursing care and full rehabilitation services including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. Programs focusing on social, creative, and intellectual interests are available, and there are plenty of group activities to participate in, including cooking, sports, crafts, parties, bus rides, and discussion groups. Beautician and barber services are provided on campus, and residents can also enjoy activities and visits with the young children from Learning Tree Child Care, the Lutheran Social Services child-care center that’s located right in the nursing-center building. (See the Education and Child Care chapter for information on Learning Tree Child Care.) Hospice services are offered by Lutheran Social Services through the Hospice of the Good Shepherd (717-334-6208), which employs a team of skilled professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers dedicated to caring for the dying patient and the patient’s family. The team works with the family and caregivers to help them understand what to expect, to teach them special caregiving techniques, and to help them with emotional difficulties. Hospice care can be provided in the home, in a skilled nursing facility, in a personal-care setting, or in a hospital. Hospice of the Good Shepherd has a bereavement program designed to help families address issues that may arise after a loved one’s death, and the program provides resources and support to aid in the family’s grief recovery process. For information on the varied home health-care services provided by Lutheran Social Services, see the Health Care and Wellness chapter.