Tower Village Senior Services

Tower Village Senior Services, located in St. Louis’ College Hill neighborhood, seeks to provide care, resources and meaningful community service and leadership to elders and disabled persons who live in the surrounding community.  The tradition of service at Tower Village is built on respect for elders and the duty to provide care and support in the most independent setting that is possible, according to the preferences of each client. 

Tower Village clients are valued as individuals whose desire for autonomy and dignity in no way decreases as they mature.  Tower Village provides help without taking away a senior’s freedom to make choices and thoroughly enjoy the dignity of their golden years in a way that they, and their families, long for and deserve. 

Tower Village receives funding from Medicaid, private fees for services, grants, and individual donations.  The organization also receives generous in-kind donations of household goods and personal items that are passed on directly to clients to support independence in community living.  A limited amount of medical equipment is also available on loan for clients who are not eligible for equipment coverage.  

Tower Village prides itself on having well-trained, caring staff members and volunteers whose goals are to provide excellent services to clients and be good neighbors within the community.  Many community groups have held their meetings and started their programs with the help of Tower Village staff, using Tower Village’s meeting rooms.  The cooperative relationship with the community allows Tower Village to support services for neighborhood residents of all ages and to further strengthen families to support elders.  Volunteers from the neighborhood and surrounding areas work with staff and clients to offer specialized recreational and educational activities that set Tower Village apart from the institutional model of care.  Neighborhood volunteers actively participate in the evaluation of Tower Village’s programs and in the development of new services.

Preserving Dignity in Maturity – Our Mission

Tower Village’s core service mission is to provide high quality, accessible, dignified and affordable health and social services to elderly and disabled persons in the context of a village culture of interdependence, community, and mutual respect.  

A Tradition of Respect

The tradition of service at Tower Village is built on respect for elders and the duty to provide care and support in the most independent setting that is possible.  In a world in which efficiency often prematurely directs seniors and disabled persons to institutional care, Tower Village still believes in its founding principles of care that enable clients to “live with dignity and be served with pride.” Tower Village provides an extra measure of advocacy and resources to empower clients to access the support they need to continue life in a community dwelling, free of the restrictions that institutional care imposes.  Tower Village works with seniors and their families to assess their needs, tailor a specialized set of services to match their needs, and match clients with qualified care providers or other community services.  Through Tower Village’s advocacy and support services for seniors, the staff and volunteers have helped numerous chronic nursing home residents return to community dwellings and have assisted many others avoid premature nursing home placement. 

A Legacy of Service and Personal Dignity – A Brief History

Almost four decades ago, leaders from the Urban League and the Presbytery of Elijah Parish Lovejoy collaborated to develop within the inner city of St. Louis a community-based complex where elderly persons of all races, religions and economic classes could “live with dignity and be served with pride.”  The group assumed ownership of the facility previously occupied by the Jewish Center for the Aged (JCA) for that purpose.  The new home would initially be named “East Grand Retirement Center."  The facility’s name change, to “Tower Village Nursing Home,” and later “Tower Village Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center” reflected its location in the only community that has two historic water towers in close proximity.  In spite of the challenges over the years, the spirit of care that was the foundation upon which Tower Village was built remained intact among the caring staff members whose pride in caring for elders was their greatest motivation.  The skilled nursing facility provided care and services to our community’s most frail elders continuously from 1975 to 2005.  Tower Village Senior In-Home Services was established with the transfer of the senior in-home services from the neighboring Friedens Haus community agency in 2001.  Adult day health services, once provided as a program in the skilled nursing facility, gained its license as a free-standing adult day health center in 2006.  Social and wellness services to neighborhood seniors have been provided throughout the history of Tower Village.  Since the closure of the skilled nursing facility, the program continues as a freestanding service and outreach to our senior neighbors.