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A Million-Dollar View

Fairview elder care facility blessed with beauty, history, and plans for the future 

By Megan Pillow

Mystic River Press

 GROTON—“The view is spectacular,” said David Brown, Director of Development for Fairview. “It’s almost like you’re at a resort.”

He stood on Fairview’s sweeping green lawn and put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. Beneath his feet stretched the Thames River. At its heart, the town of Groton and the city of New London, clutches of buildings perched on the edge of the land like sentries, and between them, the glimmering Thames River, winding its way toward the ocean. 

“It’s a million-dollar view,” said Brown, as he surveyed the scene. In reality, however, the view from Fairview is probably worth considerably more than that; its beauty, its grandeur, and its waterfront view makes it prime real estate, land that savvy investors and millionaires looking for summer real estate salivate over.

But Fairview is not interested in becoming a resort or part of the growing contingent of real estate that morphs every year into summer homes for the rich. This real estate, in fact, is reserved solely for a population of people who deserve to sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery for a change. 

Fairview, or the Odd Fellows Home of Connecticut as it is also known, is an elder care and independent living facility all rolled into one, the only non-profit nursing facility in southeastern Connecticut. It was established in 1892 on 42 acres of land on the Thames River in Groton by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows to “provide care for the aged and indigent members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, their wives, widows, and orphaned children.” 

According to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Web site, www.ioof.org, it was for causes like this that the organization came about in the first place. The Odd Fellows order dates back to 17^th century England; at the time, “it was odd to find people organized for the purpose of giving aid to those in need and of pursuing projects for the benefit of all mankind,” and therefore the people who did so were called “odd fellows.”  The organization is also known as the “Three Link Fraternity,” which stands for Friendship, Love, and Truth.

The creed of the Odd Fellows, said Dean Anderson, was to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, care for the orphans, and bury the dead.” In 17^th century England, people generally stayed close to home, according to Anderson, corporation Secretary for Fairview and the Secretary of IOOF Stonington Lodge # 26. If they did travel, they generally had no form of identification and no way to contact their family if something happened to them, so the Odd Fellows’ cause was a particularly generous and brave one.

This creed carried over to the United States when the IOOF came to America; in 1819, Thomas Wildey and four members of the Order from England instituted Washington Lodge number one. The IOOF, like the Masons and other fraternal organizations, soon became very popular. Part of that popularity came about because the lodges were a social outlet.

“Practically anybody who was anybody belonged to a lodge," said Anderson. “It was a big part of the social structure.”

The other part of that popularity, said Anderson, was because lodges came about at a time before Americans grew dependent upon governmental subsidies such as social security, life insurance, and workers’ compensation. If you were a member of a lodge and you became sick, injured, unable to work, or died early, the lodge would take care of you and your family. 

Fairview itself has a story of origination that is as complex and unusual as the formation of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. According to research done by historian Carol Kimball, Colonel Robert Stafford, a plantation owner from Georgia, purchased 33 acres of land along the Thames in 1853, and built an Italianate mansion there. He called the estate “Fairview” because of its commanding view of the Thames; in 1868, he purchased an additional 12 acres. 

Stafford was rumored to have been married to a black woman with whom he had children, and hoped to reside in the North so that his children would have advantages that wouldn’t have been available to them in the South. Little is known about the Stafford family’s life at Fairview; what is known is that Stafford’s children moved on with their lives, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Connecticut purchased the property, opened it in 1892 as a retirement home, and enlarged the facility in 1925. 

It is profoundly interesting that Fairview has a well-established history of serving as a haven.  In the nineteenth century, the Stafford family sought solace there to escape social strictures. Today, elderly men and women seek out Fairview as a place in which to live out their days in beauty and peace.   

Over a century has passed since the establishment of Fairview, and the facility has undergone a number of remarkable changes. Gone are Colonel Stafford’s Italianate-style mansion and the wooden building added in 1926. Fairview has transformed into a first-rate, Medicaid and Medicare certified elder care facility with modern buildings and accoutrements. 

Fairview now consists of the 120-bed Phelps-Stevens Nursing Home, an independent living facility with 20 individual apartments called Fellowship Manor, the 144-seat Bromfield Wilson Auditorium, and the “Friends Learning Together” child development center, licensed for 44 children. In addition, the facility no longer has fraternal restrictions; Fairview is now open to any and all members of the public over 55.

But Fairview is more than just brightly-lit wings lined with bed after bed. It is a top-notch facility with dining rooms on every floor, solariums and lounges, and a library with an Internet program. It has a recreation program that offers a whole host of activities from gardening to game playing. 

Fairview even encourages visits from the children at the child development center and offers a Fourth of July celebration where residents gather on the lawn to watch the fireworks. Even the food at the facility goes above and beyond the realm of expectation.

“The food is terrific,” said Leah Genido, Director of Food Services. If a resident wants something in particular, she said, the facility makes every effort to get it for him.

But what makes Fairview more than just walls and beds and organized activities is the people that live and work there; it is a fully integrated and heartfelt community of people living their lives and people helping to make those lives better.

“The care here is really fantastic,” said Joanne Golembeski, a Fairview nurse. Golembeski should know; all in all, she’s been working at Fairview for 30 years. 

The work at Fairview is difficult, said Golembeski, but “it has its rewards, too.” The knowledgeable and caring staff, the quality amenities, and the beautiful view make Fairview a very desirable place to be. Many of the residents feel so comfortable at Fairview that, after a day with their family, Golembeski said, they ask to go home. They don’t mean to a relative’s house or to a former residence; to them, home means Fairview. 

It is these rewards that have kept so many of the staff members at Fairview. Staff retention is a vital factor in Fairview’s success.

“I think that contributes to the quality and consistency of care,” said Golembeski. David Brown agreed. “It’s the employees that make the difference,” he said.    

Now Fairview is continuing its pattern of success through growth and development.  The facility is currently at work on a new $5 million wing, which will add a host of additional features to Fairview. The wing will offer 16 new resident rooms, two new lounges, a new therapy room, and a restaurant café with a patio, among other features.  Although there is a moratorium on beds, the advantage of the new rooms will be that there will be more options for residents who want a little more privacy.

Fancy trappings, however, mean little to a facility like Fairview if the facility itself is not in demand. With its rich history and its dedicated staff, however, Fairview is certain to be an elder care facility in high demand in the coming years, particularly as the Baby Boomer generation begins its gradual migration into senior citizenship. Just ask Joanne Golembeski. When it’s her time to go, she said, there’s simply no question. 

“I only want to go to Fairview,” she said.