Life Care Center Of Cleveland Celebrates 45th Anniversary

The year 1970 marked a historical event In Cleveland, a brand-new concept in long-term care was emerging. Garden Terrace Convalescent Center (now Life Care Center of Cleveland) opened its doors on Jan. 6, "raising the bar for long-term care with a more homelike atmosphere for residents amid luxurious décor," officials said.

In honor of the building’s 45th anniversary, the facility held a reception on Feb. 10 for the community and fellow Life Care associates. The dietary department displayed a dessert bar, a harpist played and associates gave away door prizes. 

Throughout the evening, approximately 200 guests came through to celebrate the occasion.

Beecher Hunter, president of Life Care Centers of America, kicked off the festivities by sharing his first impressions when he attended the building’s grand opening.

“It was a grand occasion then, and people were wide-eyed,” Mr. Hunter remembered. “It was kind of the Ritz Carlton of long-term care.”

Mr. Hunter also shared a proclamation from the Tennessee General Assembly in honor of the occasion and presented it to Forrest Preston, Life Care chairman and founder, and Jeremy Gravell, executive director at Life Care Center of Cleveland.

Mr. Preston also shared some of his memories about the building, including the fact that many of the original high-gloss wood doors are still in use today. 

In a moving part of the presentation, Mr. Preston shared what he told his children and the children of the builder, Farrell Jones, that day after the guests had left.

“We turned the lights out over the beds and in the hallways,” Mr. Preston said. “I told them, ‘The lights will never go out in the building again until the second coming.’”

"Though much has changed at the facility during the past 45 years - services added, renovations completed and a new continuum-of-care campus built next door - Mr. Preston's prediction has remained true," officials said. 'The lights have never gone out."