Mission
The mission of St. Luke’s Home is to provide quality of life for low-income elders to age with dignity in an assisted-living community.
Vision
A world where people don’t look away, and every Elder has access to affordable housing
Values
Respect
- Listen to understand
- Honor our differences
Compassion
- Empathetic in all our interactions
- Resolve to alleviate loneliness, helplessness, and boredom
Integrity
- Be honest and accountable in all you do and say
Collaboration
- Partner with others to achieve our shared goals
Innovation
- We respond and act creatively to changing needs of elders
- Everyone has opportunities for growth
History
St. Luke’s Home was originally founded by the Episcopal Church Mission of Arizona, and through the Board of Directors and the Board of Visitors Committee, has been providing services to the Tucson community since 1917. With a beautiful Joesler-designed chapel as a central gathering place, the structure and grounds of St. Luke’s are rooted in natural beauty and a rich history.
St. Luke’s in the Desert was founded as a tubercular sanatorium in 1918 by the Right Reverend Julius W. Atwood, D.D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Missionary District of Arizona. Bishop Atwood recognized a need to provide affordable convalescent care for men of limited means and needing an opportunity to regain their health.
As tuberculosis declined as a prevalent disease in the 1940’s, St. Luke’s transitioned to a residential space for those suffering from heart disease and respiratory ailments under the name St. Luke’s-in-the-Desert Chest Disease Center. (The Center is now part of the Banner University Medical Center Tucson housed at the University of Arizona).
The property was closed for several years but reopened as St. Luke’s Home through a collaborative effort by St. Luke’s in the Desert, Inc., and the Junior League of Tucson, who determined there was an urgent need for a facility to house older, independent women of limited financial means. The Home re-opened in July 1980 with four Elders but was soon filled to maximum capacity of 27 elders.
Today, St. Luke’s Home, which was renovated in 2000 and expanded to offering housing for men, women and couples, stands as a 64-unit assisted living community that is the only Eden Model registry assisted living facility in Arizona for limited income individuals. As an Eden Home, life at St. Luke’s centers on live plants, animals, children and young adults and abundant opportunities to grow and learn.