Juneau Pioneers’ Home open house on Saturday

The Juneau Pioneers’ Home is 25 years old. The first Alaska Pioneers’ Home opened in Sitka 100 years ago. Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO.

The Juneau Pioneers’ Home is 25 years old. To celebrate, the community is invited to an open house on Saturday.

The Juneau home opened in 1988 and is one of six in the state-owned system.

The Pioneer Homes are assisted-living centers, not nursing homes. To qualify, Alaskans must be at least 65 and have lived in the state for more than a year.  The average age in the homes is currently 86.

Forty-five residents live in the Juneau home on Glacier Highway, on one of the Twin Lakes. It can be seen from Egan Drive.

Activities Director Judy Neary says Saturday’s open house will celebrate the 25th anniversary and honor its residents.  She says while it may be a state-run facility, it’s a home. 

This is a home and we have been so lucky to serve so many Alaskans that homesteaded, who were brave souls to move up to Juneau and live in Alaska, and their stories are so fantastic.  It’s an honor for us to take care of them.

 Neary says the open house is a chance to meet the residents, hear the new grand piano, and see a newly remodeled section of the home.

 A lot of people haven’t ever come into the Pioneer Home. So I think it’s reassuring for people to see how cozy it is here, how friendly everybody is, how much we really do love each resident that’s here.

The Juneau Pioneers’ Home open house is from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday.  The home is located at 4675 Glacier Highway, near the intersection of Vanderbilt Hill Road.

 

 

 

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