Good Samaritan Village celebrates 50 years with open house
The Good Samaritan Village in Greenacres turns golden Friday.
The retirement facility celebrates its 50th anniversary with ceremonies beginning at 1 p.m. on its campus at 17121 E. Eighth Ave.
“We’re having an open house for our campus,” event coordinator Kathleen Harper said. “We’re holding a dedication for our community center, as well. We’ll have people here from our corporate office as well as the Spokane Valley mayor.
“Our residents will be involved, as well. We have one woman who has been here almost from the time we opened.”
The dedication will officially take place at 1:30 p.m. at the facility’s community center. Guided tours of the campus are open to the public until 5 p.m.
Good Samaritan Village offers a range of housing options for seniors.
“We’re a full-scale retirement community,” Harper said. “We have everything from independent living to assisted living and skilled nursing.”
The complex currently includes 76 apartments, 27 assisted living units and 87 skilled nursing beds. The complex added more than 50 duplex units in 1999. More than 230 residents currently call it home.
“I believe there were 80 apartments when we first opened,” Harper said. “But we expanded some of those units into suites, so we don’t have quite as many today.
“We really expanded the community a great deal when we opened the 56 duplex units.”
The late W.G. Tschirley and his wife laid the foundation for the village and donated the first 165 acres and Good Samaritan Village opened formally in 1958.
Today the community features a library, daily interdenominational chapel services, an activity program as well as its own beauty parlor and barber shop.
Tours can be arranged at any time, Harper said, but Friday’s open house will be an excellent opportunity to visit the facility – especially for those considering a move to a retirement center or who are in need of an assisted-living environment.
“It’s a good chance to really get a good look at everything we have to offer,” she said. “You can look around and talk to our people.”