Knowles Assisted Living

ABOUT

Knowles Adult Day Care is committed to providing affordable and individualized social, nutritional, and daily living care to adults who need

assistance, are disabled, or chronically ill, but prefer to live at home. Our program is specifically designed to provide care under the direct

supervision of a registered nurse and in collaboration with the individual’s care team including the client’s primary care physician, social

worker, dietician, the client and their family.

HISTORY

The story of the Knowles Home actually begins in the 1860’s with councilman and school board member, Mr. Joseph B. Knowles. Mr. Knowles

passed on his commitment to community and love of other to his daughter, Annie B. Horton. In 1908 Ms. Horton set up a trust fund in honor

of her father specifically for services for the elderly with the mayor of Nashville as trustee. The money from this trust fund was used in the

1930’s to create two homes for the elderly (one was for white elderly the other for black elderly) and both were named the Joseph B. Knowles

Homes for the Aged.

In 1943 the Department of Welfare of the City of Nashville was created. The two Joesph B. Knowles Homes for the Aged, the Municipal

Children’s Home and Mabel McKay Children’s Home were placed under the administration of this department. Under the Metro Charter

adopted in 1963, Metropolitan Social Services was established as a consolidation of the old City of Nashville Welfare Department and the old

Davidson County Welfare Commission. Mrs. Camilla J. Caldwell had been serving as the director of the Davidson County Welfare Commission

since 1954 and was made director of the new Metropolitan Social Services.

In 1979 Metro Social Services consolidated the two Homes for the Aged in a single, new facility on the second and third floors of a high rise

housing development for the elderly build by the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. There were 68 beds available. The Joseph B.

Knowles Home for the Aged also housed the Adult Day Care Program, which was established in 1972.

On October 1, 1985, six additional beds were activated at the Knowles Home for the Aged for an Emergency Shelter for the Elderly with

funding added to the 1985-86 budget by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Metro Council.

With the encouragement of Mr. Bill Moynihan, the Executive Director of Metro Social Services, the dream of the Knowles Home Administrator,

Ms. Caroline Skelton, to have a separate building for the Knowles Home was expressed. The environment in and around the Vine Hill Towers

where the Knowles Home was located was changing and residents were not safe walking in the area. The residents of the high-rise were

changing and there were differences between the residents of the high-rise and the Knowles Home as well as the Day Care Residents. The Day

Care was growing and participants and activities were intermingled among the resident areas and rooms. Offices were often cleared out

closets.

Ms. Skelton felt that the elderly residents could truly feel safe if they had a “home” in a separate building with areas for gardens and flowers.

She also felt that the day care area should be separate from the residents’ areas including their own entrance. Once this dream was expressed

Mr. Moynihan found the way to elicit capital funds from Mayor Bill Boner and the Metro Council for a feasibility/design study which was

conducted in 1987-88. The study focused on a new, larger, one-story building with some private rooms and a much more “home” feel to it.

In 1988-89 the Metro Council and Mayor Boner approved capital funding in the amount of $4.6 million dollars for the new home. The Metro

Board of Hospitals transferred 10 acres of land on Metro Bordeaux Hospital grounds to Metro Social Services as the site for the new Home,

and the Metro Planning Commission named the road, built by Metro Public Works as the Camilla Caldwell Lane in honor of the late former MSS

Director. The street provides access to both the Knowles Home and Bordeaux Hospital and the easy transfer of residents back and forth as

their need required.

Construction of the new building began in early 1989. Throughout the construction, frequent field trips were made to the construction site by

residents and day-care participants, so they would feel a part of the process and “ownership”.

On June 19, 1990, the new 66,000+ square foot Joseph B. Knowles Home and Adult Day Care located at 1010 Camilla Caldwell Lane off County

Hospital Road was opened. At this time utilization was limited to 68 residents and 71 day care participants with its capacity potentially

expanding to accommodate 100 residents and 90 day care participants when funding was available.

In the summer of 2007 Knowles Home and Day Center was approved by the State Department of Human Services, as a provider for their

recently initiated Home and Community Based Services Program. The Home and Community Based Services Program is a program to allow

elders and disabled persons to remain in the least restrictive environment rather than entering a nursing home for care.

SERVICES

People change and so do their needs. At Knowles Assisted Living, we offer services to meet each resident’s needs, while maintaining the highest level of privacy, respect and individuality. Our goal is to enhance the quality of life for each resident at every level of care.

WE’RE HERE TO SERVE YOU

Our professional staff is responsive to both the resident and the family. With an in-depth resident assessment, we are able to evaluate specific areas where assistance may be required.

The following services and amenities are included in our monthly fee:

24-hour trained, professional staff
24-hour emergency response system in every resident room
Full-time and part-time licensed nurses
On-going health evaluation
Housekeeping and linen service
Three delicious and well-balanced meals a day
Gracious restaurant-style dining
All utilities except telephone and cable
Scheduled transportation
Full complement of social, spiritual, educational, and recreational programs
On-site medical consulting
Medication management