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Over the years, our mission to minister to the needs of young and old alike expanded. By 1954 Buckner opened its first retirement community, the Mary E. Trew Home in Dallas; followed by the opening of Buckner Baptist Haven in Houston. In 1966, the Buckner Ryburn Nursing Center was added to the Mary E. Trew Home in Dallas and the community became Buckner Retirement Village – still proudly serving Dallas-area seniors. In 1970, Buckner Villas in Austin became part of the Buckner family. Buckner Westminster Place in Longview opened as an Independent Living community in 1996, and in 1998, Parkway Place in Houston opened, replacing Buckner Haven. The fifth Buckner senior living community, Calder Woods in Beaumont, opened officially in October 2000. Baptist Retirement Community History: Shortly after the hospital opened, medical advances led to a rapid decline in the number of tuberculosis patients. With the number of empty beds growing, Mrs. Gayer decided to admit an elderly neighbor who could no longer live alone. Soon word spread that the hospital was admitting senior adults for long-term care and the demand began to grow. In 1957, Mrs. Gayer donated the hospital to the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the name was changed to Baptist Memorials Geriatric Center, reflecting its beginnings from memorial gifts and its new mission of caring for the aging. This began a period of growth as the Center expanded its ministry. In 1959, the first major addition was made to the Center which included a chapel that has become the hub of the campus, both physically and spiritually. The year 1972 brought the completion of the Scarborough Administration Building and the addition of a nursing wing. The Elsie Gayer Memorial Building was completed in 1966 in honor of the founder of the hospital who served until 1968 as its administrator. In 1981, the Evelyn Linebery Building, which houses a 100 bed skilled nursing unit, was completed. The year 1963 also marked the beginning of a new ministry on our campus: construction of independent living units for senior adults looking to retire in a secure, Christian environment. Additions to Baptist Retirement Community include: 1959 – Chapel In 2010, Buckner Retirement Services and Baptist Memorial Ministries affiliated with each other bringing Baptist Retirement Community, San Angelo, TX and The Woodlands, Burnet, TX into the BRS family of retirement communities. With the addition of these two communities, BRS provides a host of senior living options in seven locations across Texas. Other Buckner communities besides Baptist Retirement Community and The Woodlands are: Buckner Retirement Village, Dallas in 1954, Buckner Villas, Austin in 1970, Buckner Westminster Place, Longview in 1996, Parkway Place, Houston in 1998 and Calder Woods, Beaumont in 2000. Click here to read more about the history of Buckner Retirement Services. Baptist Retirement Community offers a full continuum of living and care throughout the campus. Located on a beautifully landscaped campus, Baptist Retirement Community provides housing, services and amenities to more than 600 seniors who choose from a variety of lifestyles all in a spiritually enhanced atmosphere. Share this with your friends |
Buckner History:
Baptist Retirement Community has grown from its beginning as a small hospital into a large continuum of care retirement campus. Elsie Gayer, RN, founded the Center in 1951 when she opened a tuberculosis hospital built on the charitable contributions of several friends. Appropriately, the Center was named Memorials Hospital because many of the contributions had been made in memory of loved ones.