COMMUNITY FIRST SOLUTIONS TIMELINE
A brief history of the growth of Hamilton-based nonprofit Community First Solutions over the years:
1918: A gift of a Dayton Street, Hamilton, home established Colonial to provide older adult services.
1954: Partners in Prime opened the first senior center in Ohio.
1974: Horizon Service, now Community Behavioral Health, became one of the first mental health service providers in Butler County.
1998: Colonial and Community Behavioral Health Inc. became businesses under the same parent company.
2008: The nonprofit Community First Pharmacy opened in 2008 at 210 S. Second St., Hamilton.
2009: Community Behavioral acquired Comprehensive Counseling Service of Middletown.
2010: The parent company, formerly known as Fort Hamilton Healthcare Corp., used to share a board of directors with Fort Hamilton Hospital. When the hospital joined a new network, the nonprofit group spun off, formed a separate and independent board, and changed its name to Community First Solutions effective 2011.
Colonial at Home, which offers home care services, started in 2010 and is Community First’s fastest growing division.
2012: Partners in Prime senior centers in July 2012 merged with Community First Solutions, to become the parent company's fourth subdivision. Also, the $3 million Donna Y. Carruthers Manor House at Berkeley Square, one of Colonial's communities, was completed. The pharmacy was renovated and expanded, a project finished in June 2012 for $64,000. Community Behavioral Middletown added a fifth condominium. There was a $1.2 million project to build the Elements Wellness Center at Berkeley Square, which opened before the end of 2012.
2013: Colonial At Home opens a second West Chester Twp. office as it expands.
2014: Christy Quincy was named president of Partners in Prime effective in January.
Plans were announced in June to build a $12 million post-surgery rehabilitation center on Main Street in Hamilton. Further approvals must still be obtained before construction can start.
The board of directors also approved July 30 plans to move the headquarters to downtown Hamilton. Approximately $5.8 million will be invested to renovate the former Ringel’s Furniture building at 223 South Third Street for the relocation.
Fast-growing nonprofit Community First Solutions has grown to be one of Butler County’s largest employers and service providers, and has more growth plans in store.
Community First — through its subdivisions Colonial, Community Behavioral Health, Community First Pharmacy and Partners in Prime — operates retirement communities, runs senior centers, provides mental health services and sells discount prescriptions, among other services. Altogether, the four divisions and parent company, which provides back-office services, employ nearly 700 people.
Services provided by Community First and the subdivisions affect approximately 46,000 people a year in Butler, Hamilton, Montgomery and Warren counties.
“We’re growing because the needs of our client base are growing,” said Jeff Thurman, president and chief executive officer of Community First. “I think we’re seeing growth across Community First because more and more people are familiar with what services we offer.”
Most recently, having outgrown its Hamilton headquarters office building at 520 Eaton Ave., the board of directors of Community First approved July 30 plans to move the headquarters to downtown Hamilton. Approximately $5.8 million will be invested to renovate the former Ringel’s Furniture building at 223 S. Third St. for the relocation.
Since re-organizing in 2010, three key trends have put Community First on the fast-track: merging nonprofits that share corporate services; new, high-growth service offerings such as Colonial At Home; and an expanding customer base.
Formerly known as Fort Hamilton Healthcare Corp., the parent nonprofit organization at one time shared a board of directors with Fort Hamilton Hospital. When the hospital changed networks and joined the hospital and doctor system Kettering Health Network in July 2010, the organizations separated. Fort Hamilton Healthcare formed its own governing group separate from the hospital in 2010, and the organization was renamed Community First Solutions effective in 2011.
Since then, Community First and Partners in Prime, which operates senior centers in Hamilton, Fairfield and West Chester Twp., merged in 2012.
In a time other nonprofits are seeing their funding sources run dry, mergers have helped Community First gain efficiencies for accounting, marketing, payroll and construction, and capture multiple sources of revenues, Thurman said.
The Colonial division, which runs the Hamilton retirement communities Berkeley Square and Westover, launched in 2010 a new home care service, Colonial At Home. It’s now Community First’s fastest growing business, averaging about 70 clients a month. Caregivers provide non-skilled, in-home services such as companionship, assistance with daily living activities, and help with personal care.
Other growth factors include an expanding customer base of older adults, a population expected to keep growing as more baby boomers reach retirement age. Additionally, last year’s expansion of Medicaid eligibility in Ohio grew the number of people with health insurance coverage to reimburse some costs of Community Behavioral and pharmacy services. Moreover, Community First is expanding its reach outside Hamilton, and growing services at locations in Middletown, Fairfield and West Chester Twp.
“We strongly believe that although we’re serving all demographics throughout all socioeconomic levels … at the end of the day, it’s about helping people achieve their best self and providing a network of services,” said Danielle Webb, Community First vice president of business strategy and marketing.
Due to growth, Community First has become Hamilton’s fourth largest employer behind Butler County government, Hamilton City School District and Fort Hamilton Hospital. The nonprofit’s operating budget this year is $45 million.
“We’re looking for new businesses, new opportunities, but it’s also with the constant idea that whatever we grow has to be sustainable, so we’re going to be here for the long-term,” Thurman said. Any new services must “truly add value and meaning to the people we serve.”
Here’s the latest update on each Community First business:
Colonial
Colonial, which provides senior living, home care and other services including a members-only restaurant, announced plans earlier in 2014 for a new $12 million medical rehabilitation facility on Main Street in Hamilton.
Plans are to build a 42-bed facility offering post-surgery rehabilitation care in a resort-style setting. Overnight and same-day services will be offered for knee, hip and other surgery patients discharged from the hospital, but not yet ready to go home.
Colonial already offers rehabilitation and therapy services for older adults at Berkeley Square and Westover. The new center will be a third, off-campus location intended for a growing population of “younger older adults” ages 50 to 70 who might prefer staying in a hotel-like setting with high-speed Internet versus a nursing home setting.
Before construction can start, Community First must still obtain a Certificate of Need from Ohio Department of Health.
Community Behavioral Health Inc.
A new leadership team is in place over Community Behavioral’s services which include: mental health services; a residential facility for Butler County residents with severe mental disorders (Great Miami Services); outpatient chemical dependency services for adults and adolescents; case management; at-home services; children services; and apartment management throughout Butler County for clients with mental health diagnoses who can live independently.
Laura Sheehan was promoted to president of Community Behavioral effective July 1, and Jason Maurath is the new vice president of operations. They will lead efforts to implement a new customer-focused strategy.
Community First Pharmacy
The nonprofit pharmacy located at 210 S. Second St., in Hamilton, fills approximately 1,000 prescriptions a week at reduced prices for both uninsured and insured customers.
Currently the pharmacy is piloting home delivery, eventually hoping to extend this option to older adults throughout Butler County.
Partners in Prime
The newest division saw a change in top leadership at the beginning of the year, with Christy Quincy taking over the role of president. Former president Steve Schnabl took the job of director of development for Community First.
Quincy said last year she was focusing on building diverse and new programming to appeal to today’s older adult.
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