Eunice Smith Home renamed Alton Memorial Rehabilitation & Therapy

Effective Dec. 18, Eunice Smith Home, the skilled nursing and rehabilitation community that has been serving the senior communities in and around Alton for 53 years, will become Alton Memorial Rehabilitation & Therapy.

“We are committed to keeping the Eunice Smith legacy and building upon the high standards of excellence this community has provided,” says Daniel Vogel, administrator of Alton Memorial Rehabilitation & Therapy. “We believe this legacy can only be enhanced by the numerous advantages of aligning with Alton Memorial Hospital and its reputation for quality, conscientious care for seniors living in the Riverbend area and their families.”

Currently rated as a 5-star community by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the area of Quality Measures, the rehabilitation, skilled nursing and long-term care services at Alton Memorial Rehabilitation & Therapy are provided by Bethesda Health Group, which manages the community per an agreement with community owner BJC HealthCare.

In the coming months, Alton Memorial Rehabilitation & Therapy will hold an open house, and at the time will unveil areas of the community that honor the history and reflect the essence of “Miss Eunice,” including a Healing Garden.

Eunice Smith was the daughter of Alton industrialist William Eliot Smith and is considered one of Alton’s greatest benefactors. In 1937, she saw the need for additional health facilities to care for the people of Alton and after her father’s death persuaded her mother to donate 75 acres of land from their Elm Ridge estate in Upper Alton for the grounds that become Alton Memorial Hospital.

The rehabilitation facility is on those grounds, at 1251 College Ave.

PHOTO: Daniel Vogel, administrator, and Hazel Morgan, referral coordinator, watch as the new Alton Memorial Rehabilitation & Therapy sign is installed outside the former Eunice Smith Home on Dec. 18.