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History : History Narrative

Tabitha History

Tabitha began as an orphanage in 1886 in an old cowboy bunkhouse. Rev. Henry Heiner (shown in photo with family) purchased 10 acres of land in the 48th and Randolph Streets area of Lincoln with a $25 down payment. A group of children who were homeless or orphaned were moved into a the bunkhouse. Aged members of the community joined the children. Rev. Heiner named the new institution "Tabitha" after his daughter who died in infancy. Tabitha was a disciple in the New Testament who was known as a woman who "was devoted to good works and acts of charity" (Acts 9:36).

In 1890, Old Main was built on the northwest corner of the 10-acre tract of land to provide housing for the increasing number of children and adults who lived there. Two years later, an additional five acres south of Randolph Street were purchased and used to grow fruit trees and vegetable gardens to support the growing institution.

In 1907, Tabitha became a Lutheran hospital and a school of nursing in addition to serving as a home for children and adults. Tabitha took on new responsibilities in the winter of 1909 when the State Hospital for Tuberculosis in Lincoln closed and Tabitha was asked to make room for those patients.

In 1926, the Nazareth Building was built as the Boy's Dormitory. Today, it serves as Tabitha's Administrative Offices. In 1937, the Bethel Building was constructed as the Girl's Dormitory. Today, it serves as the home for Tabitha's Education & Training Resource Center.

Though at first delayed by World War II, construction began on a new brick building in 1946 to replace Old Main. This new building included a completely equipped chapel and is the current south wing of Tabitha Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. When responsibility for the care of homeless children was transferred to Immanuel Hospital and Lutheran Family Services in Omaha in 1960, Tabitha's role as an orphanage ended, marking an end to an era.

By the early 1960s, the social and health care landscape had changed dramatically. Under the direction of Martha A. Maseman (Special Assistant to the Executive Director and responsible for developing Tabitha Home Health Care and later Tabitha Meals on Wheels and Hospice of Tabitha), Tabitha began to expand to home-based services.

The concept of Home Health Care was a "radical" one at the time with health care professionals going into homes to care for people with an injury or illness rather than treating them in medical facilities. In 1965, there were fewer than a half-dozen programs in existence in the nation. In March 1966, Tabitha's Home Health Care program became Medicare certified, the first in Nebraska. Nurses, physical therapists and home health aides assisted patients to recover in the comfort of their own homes.

Between October 1966 and the end of that year, 75 home health care visits were made. The second year in its existence, 500 home health care visits were made. Tabitha began to serve other counties in southeastern Nebraska, and currently, Tabitha averages over 50,000 home health visits a year.

To help feed homebound people who are elderly or with a disability, Tabitha Meals on Wheels began to roll in 1967. Tabitha Meals on Wheels serves a hot, noon meal to nearly 400 people seven days a week, 365 days a year!

By 1971, Tabitha built a new skilled nursing unit, currently known as Tabitha's North Wing.

In 1973, on the land south of Randolph Street originally used as an orchard and garden, Tabitha Village was built to provide HUD-subsidized housing for people who are retired or disabled. The Walter Apartments in the Autumn Wood retirement community were built in 1975. "The Walter" was named after Rev. Ernst Walter who served as superintendent of Tabitha for 23 years.

In the 1970s, the hospice philosophy of caring for people with a terminal illness in their own homes was new to the United States. Tabitha recognized that people needed to be free of pain and comforted emotionally, physically and spiritually in their final days. Hospice of Tabitha was the first hospice program of its kind introduced in Lincoln in 1979.

The Tabitha Foundation was created in 1981 by Stuart Maseman to raise funds to help support Tabitha's services and Mission.

In 1987, Home Care Specialties of Tabitha, Inc. was established to provide private duty/24-hour care to help people recover from an illness or injury in their homes.

Building for the first time outside Lincoln, Tabitha purchased the Southeast Community College dormitory in Fairbury, Nebraska, in 1988. Tabitha converted the student residence into Pinecrest Retirement Apartments.

In 1992, the Maseman Unit was established within Tabitha Nursing & Rehabilitation Center to provide inpatient, hospice care and respite services for families. The unit was dedicated to Martha A. Maseman for her effort in pioneering Hospice of Tabitha in 1979.

Also in 1992, Tabitha expanded its Pastoral Care program providing outreach to clients in the community. Additional staff were hired to make pastoral visits to Tabitha Meals on Wheel recipients, home care clients and residents at Tabitha's housing units.

The Johnsen Family Wing opened in 1993 replacing rooms with enhanced and improved resident rooms to give residents more comfort. It also provided a centralized nursing station to better serve clients. A gift shop inside to the new J Street entrance welcomes visitors to Tabitha.

In 1995, Tabitha expanded its physical, occupational and speech therapy services to residents and to provide outpatient services. The Augustine Rehabilitation included new state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment to meet those needs.

In February of 1996, the Grand Island and York Regional Offices opened to meet the growing needs of expanding services to home care clients.

In 1997, Tabitha Nursing Home was renamed Tabitha Nursing & Rehabilitation Center to reflect the services provided. In August 1997, the Regional Office in Nebraska City opened.

Tabitha made history again in February 1999 by opening the Kimmel Solarium of Tabitha on the 4th floor – the first facility of its kind in Nebraska for individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia.

In October 1999, Tabitha was the first site in Nebraska chosen to receive and to be trained using the first citizen-access Automated External Defibrillator (AED) unit available since new legislation was passed in Nebraska to assist people in sudden cardiac arrest.

Tabitha began offering Day Services for people with dementia in December 1999 with the program Garden Lane Adult Day Services. These services provide help to caregivers who seek an opportunity for non-residential care of their loved one with Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia.

In March 2000, Home Care Specialties of Tabitha, Inc., moved their offices to the second floor of the southeast wing in Tabitha Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. In April, Tabitha resumed full ownership of Home Care Specialties of Tabitha, Inc.

On September 5, 2000, Tabitha broke ground to construct an adult and child day care center, across the street from Tabitha Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, just north of Tabitha.

In July 2001, Tabitha Health Care Services opened the region's first Intergenerational Center, offering Developmental Play School and Adult Day Services in a shared site. Tabitha Intergenerational Center was dedicated August 15, 2001, as the Al and Bobby Sward Building. The Dedication Service recognized the vision and leadership of retiring president Al Sward.

Tabitha Nursing & Rehabilitation Center was registered by the Eden Alternative as Lincoln's first Eden facility in December of 2002. The Eden Alternative recognizes that all human beings require nurturing in order to grow and sustain life. An Eden home is committed to nurturing the mind, body and spirit of every Elder, family and staff member.

On June 17, 2003, Tabitha celebrated the groundbreaking for the new Tabitha Rehabilitation Center.

In 2003 Tabitha Health Care Services was honored with the Gladys Forsyth Award, given annually by the Lincoln YWCA to recognize the commitment of a business or organization to improve opportunities for women and persons of color.

In October of 2004, Hospice of Tabitha was formally recognized as the founding Hospice in Nebraska at the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization national conference in Washington D.C.

On October 17, 2004, Tabitha celebrated the Grand Opening of Tabitha LifeQuest Center, a newly constructed facility providing both Inpatient and Outpatient Rehabilitation.

On September 6, 2005, Tabitha broke ground for the new Green House Project^TM at Tabitha.

Nine residents moved into their new home providing long-term care – the Green House Project at Tabitha. This new facility was the first in Nebraska and only the second state in the nation to provide long-term care in a private residence.

Nebraska’s Governor Dave Heineman honored Tabitha along with other businesses at the 2006 Celebration of Labor Industry Tour on September 14th at the State Capitol. The award recognized Tabitha’s commitment and achievements in promoting career development and skills training for young people.

October 1, 2006, Tabitha assumed operations of the long-term care facility located at 1540 Grove Avenue in Crete, Nebraska. This 34-bed long-term care facility was renamed, Tabitha Nursing Center at Crete.

January 2007, Tabitha introduced Honeywell HomMed® Telehealth, a hospital-grade device that records weight, blood pressure, oxygen and pulse over the patient's telephone line from their home to Tabitha.

September 2007, Tabitha received the Nebraska Health Care Association Award for Outstanding Achievement 2007 in Long-Term Care for the Green House Project® at Tabitha.

September 2007, Tabitha was selected as York's Choice in Home Care and Favorite Nurse, York Reader's Choice Awards

November 2007, Tabitha was named to the 2007 HomeCare Elite, a compilation of the most successful Medicare certified home health care providers in the United States. This annual review identifies the top 25 percent of agencies, ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance. The data used for this analysis was compiled from publicly available information. The 2007 HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health industry. The 2007 HomeCare Elite is brought to the industry by OCS, Inc., the leading provider of healthcare informatics and DecisionHealth, publisher of home care’s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line.

November 19, 2007, Tabitha Meals on Wheels volunteers delivered the 3 millionth meal.