Our History

What can you do with two-thousand dollars, even back then 50 years ago, not much. So there was some struggling… it was good that Bethesda came on board… it all worked out well, never had doubts… a lot of prayer went into it. God led it all the way, without him it probably wouldn’t be here today.”

–Earl Lammers, the liaison between the Bethesda and University Hills Christian Nursing Home Association, former board member and Clermont Park resident

A plea for support went out in early 1970 by way of advertisements in The Banner and Church Herald magazines that offered non-secured “promissory notes.” Constituents overwhelmingly responded by purchasing notes totaling $627,000.

It was kind of fun as well bringing on the sweat, a few tears sometimes, but we seemed to be blessed with success.”

– Elmer Houtsma, original nursing home administrator and former Clermont Park resident

Construction began and those early volunteers, board members, and founders poured a lot of themselves into building University Hills Christian Nursing Home. Contractor Don Jeltema essentially built the 62-bed nursing home at cost.

It was his vision to provide for the elderly . . . he knew older people don’t like to be put on the shelf.”

– Dottie Jeltema, original volunteer, wife of the former Don Jeltema, and former resident of Someren Glen

We would go and sweep the floors so it would be clean for the next day and when the windows got put in we went and washed the windows and when the furniture was brought over that had been stored in a barn we washed all the furniture down – so it was just exciting, we could see the progress we were making, they were such good memories.”

– Mary Ham original volunteer, wife of the former Rod Ham who served on the original board, and current Clermont Park resident

Visionary from the Start – Advocating for Older Adults

A window for every resident – sounds common, but even today some skilled nursing communities are built with companion suites that have beds side by side, with only one window for residents to share. In 1972, with dignity and respect as the cornerstone, our founders ensured a window for each person to enjoy fresh air and a beautiful view.

Advocacy is also at the foundation of CLC. Instead of ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, we had Elmer Houtsma Goes to Washington. In the ‘70s, Congress passed legislation mandating each nursing home must have a Medical Director – little direction, no provisions for funding, legislation without a nod towards implementation. Mr. Houtsma, our first administrator, was relentless in his advocacy for nursing home rights and influenced the further clarification and financial support for the start of programs.

Elmer Houtsma also signed CLC on as an early member of a statewide senior care advocacy group then called the Colorado Associate of Homes for the Aging (CAHA), now known as LeadingAge Colorado. CLC’s faithful support helped LeadingAge grow from just a few care providers to the 200 strong members it is today.

CLC helped pioneer the assisted living option in the state of Colorado. It was among the first to develop a care level offering help with dressing, medications, and meals to seniors who didn’t fit skilled nursing criteria but weren’t safe at home. CLC was also one of the first organizations to introduce Life Plan Communities in the Denver metro area.

Today, we are leading the way with the CLC Citizenship Model for community living. Residents, team members, family members, and our vendor partners are all citizens, who together, weave a beautiful and vibrant tapestry of living.

We believe this approach will revolutionize aging services, moving beyond traditional cultures that focus on a declinist view of aging to purpose-filled cultures of shared responsibility, to citizenship.