History

History

St. John’s Retirement Village (SJRV) was first created for and by the community and continues to be supported by the people of Yolo County and beyond.

It began in 1964 when the Stoll family recognized the need for a secure environment in which the seniors of our community could be treated with dignity and where quality of life could be maintained. They gifted their estates, totaling $750,000 toward the goal of establishing a non-profit retirement facility in Yolo County. The funding helped purchase the 14 acres upon which St. John’s operates today and continues to grow to meet the needs of the elderly.

The first phase of construction began with 13 courtyard apartments, two cottages and the main building which included a kitchen and administrative offices. The second phase brought a third cottage and the 48-bed Stollwood Convalescent Hospital. By 1980 ten more cottages were built and in 1988 the Personal Care Unit (PCU) was completed. In 1999 the Alzheimer’s Manors East and West and a chapel were added to the campus.

Today the campus consists of 11 (originally 13) individual cottages consisting of studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom-homes, 14 apartments (studios and 1-bedroom), 32 apartments (studio and 1-bedroom) in the Personal Care Unit building, 16 studio rooms for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients in Dorothy Gray Watts Manor West, 16 studio rooms for increased personal care in Dorothy Tollefsen Manor East, the 48-bed Stollwood Convalescent Hospital, a chapel, an  administration building and a facility maintenance building. The latest project includes converting two of the orginal cottages into a Hospice Cottage that will serve end of life patients in need of residential and hospice care.  It is slated to open Spring 2012.

Three acres remain undeveloped.