The Bethesda Health Group Foundation is committed to touching the lives of seniors in as many meaningful ways as possible. And nowhere is that reflected more clearly than in the breadth of our endowment funds.

Each fund was created to meet specific needs and together they combine to empower Bethesda to live up to our long-held beliefs and goals:

  • Improving the quality of our facilities and services
  • Providing compassionate care in all that we do
  • Supporting Bethesda residents who have outlived their financial resources and their ability to pay

Here are brief overviews of the options that are so essential to the future of Bethesda and the residents we serve.

Bethesda’s General Endowment Fund – provides supplemental funding to support general operations and to keep resident fees affordable. In recent years, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for senior care and service providers has not grown adequately to match exploding healthcare costs. For the last decade, Bethesda has voluntarily provided millions of dollars in unreimbursed care to offset the costs of these necessary, yet underfunded, services. When appropriate, Bethesda’s Board of Directors has also authorized the use of the General Fund to partially finance major capital projects.

The John W. Rowe Humanitarian Care Fund – named in honor of one of Bethesda’s former Chief Executive Officers, this fund provides financial assistance to Bethesda residents who do not have sufficient financial resources to pay for needed care and services. The fund supports Bethesda’s long-standing desire “to never ask a resident to leave because they have run out of money.” With continued rising medical costs and a growing older population, more St. Louis seniors are in need of financial support in order to continue living in the place they happily call home.

The John F. Norwood Quality of Life Fund – named for Bethesda’s longtime President and Chief Executive Officer (1965-1998), the fund provides resources to support special care and services that enhance the lives of Bethesda residents. In these challenging economic times, general corporate revenues must be concentrated on meeting required medical needs and living necessities. That means resources are not always available to pay for special things that make life more enjoyable and worth living. Income from the Quality of Life Fund helps finance many “extras,” such as state-of-the-art resident monitoring systems, which enable greater freedom of movement; expansion of programs for Alzheimer’s and dementia care, and social activities, events and programs that are just plain fun for residents and their families.

Over the years, funds have been created that reflect the passions of the funds’ namesakes.

The Marie Sansone Zucchero Music Always Fund recognizes and celebrates Marie’s 40 years of volunteer leadership at Bethesda Dilworth, where she played piano every Thursday and performed with the Bethesda Dilworth “Ding-a-Lings,” a group of fellow volunteers she founded. The fund has been created by Marie’s five granddaughters to enhance musical experiences for all the residents of Bethesda’s communities.

In the words of Marie’s granddaughter Amy George Rush, “This fund keeps her spirit, her gifts and her joy very much alive—always with us and with Bethesda, the people and the place that mattered to her most.”

Ken & Garie Perry Readiness Fund is a powerful response to the lessons of the pandemic. The fund was created by Ken and Garie Perry, a generous couple living at Bethesda Gardens, to purchase essential and lifesaving items so Bethesda can be more thoroughly prepared for any unexpected needs.

Garie explains their fund simply: “Contributions to the fund will prepare Bethesda for crises like COVID-19, as well as other emergencies that could strike our community.”

The Mary June King Scholarship Fund, established in Mary’s memory by her daughter, Mary Brown, has been created to support any Bethesda employee seeking college-level or post-secondary school education in a field that benefits Bethesda and the employee. Since its inception, close to 20 employees have benefitted as recipients of this fund.