Nourishment of soul and body, compassionate care, and an extensive range of services rank high on the list of what makes Villa St. Francis a special place for residents. Located in Olathe, Villa St. Francis is sponsored by the archdiocese and provides skilled nursing and rehabilitative care for the frail and elderly.
Catholics value the fact that Mass is offered daily in the Villa chapel. A priest sacramental minister and Sisters are on-site to offer spiritual opportunities to all residents of Villa St. Francis. A beautiful new statue of St. Francis, donated by a friend of the facility, greets visitors at the Villa’s entrance.
“A commitment to great food is another plus for our residents,” said John May, administrator. “We go the extra mile to provide nutritious, tastefully prepared food and respect resident choice in meal selection.”
The Villa has a person-centered philosophy with a team approach. Staff members are assigned consistently to the same units to help develop close relationships with residents. The homelike environment fosters friendships among residents who help each other, which makes them feel valuable day after day.
The nursing facility offers memory care, rehabilitative therapies, post-surgery care and wound care. Short-term rehabilitation allows individuals to return to their home environments. The facility also provides weekday adult day care for persons in need of structured programming and individualized care.
Villa St. Francis serves people of all means, with a special concern for the poor. Funds from the Archbishop’s Call to Share help offset the shortfall in Medicaid payments for nursing facility care.
“Without ACTS,” May said, “we would be challenged to maintain the high levels of quality care and the range of services we provide for our residents.”
Catholic Charities expands ministries with ACTS funds
In addition to providing much needed funding for our basic needs (light bills, rent and insurance), the Archbishop’s Call to Share funding has helped us to enter into two new ministries in the last 24 months.
The first is our rural outreach ministry. Kate Smith and Kelly Kuhn are modern day “circuit riders” who travel each week to parishes in Miami County and Jackson County working to assist families in crisis connect with available resources. Perhaps they need assistance with a rent or mortgage payment, an overdue utility bill or counseling for a child or marriage that is struggling. This new ministry has been so successful that we hope to be able to expand to other areas within our 21-county archdiocese.
The second ministry is Shalom House, a 25-bed emergency shelter for homeless men in Wyandotte County. For many years, Shalom House operated as a Catholic Worker House and relied on volunteer staff and leadership. However, the death of their long-time director, Mary Kay Meyer, placed Shalom House on tenuous footing, and Catholic Charities was asked to step in and provide assistance. With funding from Call to Share we have been able to add one paid staff position to Shalom House, ensuring that its doors will continue to be open to men in need. Our hope is that over time we will have the resources available to provide these men with other needed services, including counseling, job skills training and transitional housing.
