Eldercare Services Institute — In-home and on-site health care and social services throughout Cuyahoga County.

Margaret Blenkner Research Institute — Nationally renowned research in finding ways to improve services for older people and their caregivers. The Center also houses Benjamin Rose Library, one of the nation's few libraries whose materials are devoted solely to aging.

A Brief History of The Benjamin Rose Institute
The agency diligently positions itself to lead the gerontological arena in caring for people. Such a precedent was set by Mr. Rose himself. A shrewd businessman with an empathic heart, Mr. Rose established the organization that bears his name after a visit from a former business associate. The man had outlived his resources, and approached Mr. Rose for assistance. Realizing there must be others for whom the only option was the city infirmary or poorhouse. Mr. Rose chose to leave his fortune to provide another option for those needing assistance in later life.

Mr. Rose hand picked the original board members, who he stipulated be women. Today, in accordance with his Will, the board remains all female. The agency was enacted upon his death in 1908.

In Benjamin Rose's early years, board members selected recipients who applied for financial assistance. In an era without Social Security, the $17.34 per month received by clients was often the difference between death and survival.

In the 1930s—in addition to financial support—Benjamin Rose began providing social work and medical services. The enactment of Social Security by President Roosevelt in 1935 allowed Benjamin Rose to serve more people.

In the 1940s, Benjamin Rose began establishing homes for older people. The agency operated three houses (Belford House, Braeburn House and Juniper House) in Cleveland that served as group homes for older people unable to live alone.

Through a partnership with University Hospitals, Benjamin Rose opened The Benjamin Rose Hospital in 1953. It was one of the first elder-specific rehabilitative hospitals in the country. For 16 years, the facility helped older people make the hospital-to-home transition after stroke, surgery or other loss of physical abilities.

In 1961, the people living in Benjamin Rose's three residential homes were moved into Margaret Wagner House, Benjamin Rose's first nursing home. The facility served as a model for the nation by showing how homelike care could be provided in an institutional setting.

At this time Benjamin Rose also created its research department. The first research director, Dr. Margaret Blenkner, conducted landmark studies on elder abuse prevention and the value of home care aides in helping older people with housekeeping and personal care.

Benjamin Rose eventually established one of the first libraries devoted solely to materials related to geriatrics and gerontology. The Benjamin Rose Library is part of The Margaret Blenkner Research Institute.

In recent years, Benjamin Rose has created partnerships with various organizations to develop services that will meet the ever-changing needs of a growing population in an era of managed care. Recent examples of this are the Concordia Care (PACE) Program, the Fairhill Center for Aging, and HealthRays Alliance.

In 1997, Benjamin Rose opened Kethley House at Benjamin Rose Place. The skilled nursing home was designed to meet the needs of current and future generations of older people. Kethley House replaced Margaret Wagner House, which is currently home to Community Services staff and Concordia Care. In February of 2006 the difficult but necessary decision to cease nursing care at Kethley House was made. In the Summer of 2006 our Administrative, Research and Community Services divisions consolidated their offices on the 3rd floor of Kethley House. The remaining floors are being leased to Kindred Hospital systems for their use as a Long Term Acute Care Hospital. This unique partnership between a corporate health care provider and a non-profit social service agency helps us to be a sustainable source of in-home care, research and advocacy into the future.

Today, Benjamin Rose helps both those unable to afford the complete cost of care as well as those who can. The agency founded upon one man's vision has not lost sight of his goal, but is keeping an eye on the future as well.