[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 165 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SIMPSON HOUSE SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 5, 2015

  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, on November 13, 2015, administrators of the 
Simpson House, the oldest existing retirement community in the world 
that is historically related to the United Methodist Church will 
celebrate its Sesquicentennial Anniversary; a significant milestone for 
the Simpson House and the City of Philadelphia.
   Founded in 1865, in Philadelphia, wounded Civil War soldiers needed 
care. Memorialized in the Ladies' United Aid Society meeting minutes is 
the sentiment that compassionate Methodist women found themselves, 
called to work in spheres of which they had never dreamed or had the 
remotest idea. At the end of the Civil War, in 1865, Jane Henry, 
Simpson House Foundress knew experienced empowered volunteers could 
capably address other issues of their era. When she felt a call to 
ensure that aged individuals who had no money, no family and no means 
of supporting themselves had a safe and secure place to live, she did 
not sit idly by. Rather, she took decisive actions which would lead to 
a meeting on June 14th 1865, and the founding of the Methodist 
Episcopal Home for the Aged, today known as Simpson House.
   Dedicated volunteers and staff have led and guided the Simpson House 
since the beginning. They include its Founder, Jane Henry, Mrs. Ellen 
Holmes Verner Simpson and her husband Bishop Matthew Simpson who served 
as the second president and member of the Advisory Committee; Arthur & 
Anne Flanagan, unpretentious and generous donors; Margaret McKay 
Gerhart, volunteer and executive director; and The Rev. David W. 
Powell, Executive Director. Richard Coyle, RN, NHA, Simpson House 
Executive Director and Kim W. Williams, Simpson House Senior Services 
President and CEO are their successors and guardians of the mission.
   Generous and ongoing support from many donors helps make commitment 
to high quality and dignified housing and health care services to the 
women and men of the Greater Philadelphia Region possible. The Simpson 
House continues its commitment to benevolent and charity care, a 
promise since its founding.
   Today the Simpson House offers independent living apartments; 
personal care apartments; memory support and skilled nursing care, 
serving an average of three hundred senior adults per year. A committed 
and dedicated staff of more than three hundred employees provides these 
service and care.
   The Simpson House Sesquicentennial Anniversary celebrates the 
fifteen decades of service. They are honored to serve residents who 
wish to share their lives and common interests in a caring and active 
setting. I urge this body to join with me in celebrating the Simpson 
House and the quality affordable care and accommodations it provides 
for Philadelphia's older adults.

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