Experiences
ManorCare Health Services - Jersey Shore's First Administrator Celebrates Her 100th Birthday
Mary Jane Fenton turned 100 years old on January 28, 2017. This is was a very special birthday as she celebrated it as a resident of ManorCare Health Services - Jersey Shore. This is particularly special because Mary Jane was the very first administrator of Leader Nursing Center, known today as ManorCare - Jersey Shore. Mary Janewas appointed the administrator by Governor George M. Leader on March 21, 1973. Mary Jane began her duties as administrator of the new nursing facility on May 1, 1973. It originally started as a 70 bed nursing center and has grown to a 120 bed short- and long-term skilled nursing and rehabilitation center.
During the first few years of opening, 51% of the patients in the facility were from Jersey Shore and 19% of the patients were from the Lock Haven area. There was an average of a 98% occupancy rate. Mary Jane stated “those days were very fulfilling.”
Speaking of her time as Administrator, she said “we grew from the bottom up and had a lot of organizing to do. Governor Leader and his wife were very helpful in the process and Mrs. Leader personally did all of the decorating inside.”
Maureen Stabley, who is a current LPN at ManorCare - Jersey Shore was originally hired by Mary Jane as an LPN for Leader Nursing Center. Maureen stated “Mary Jane would sit in the patient’s room with the families during any difficult times if they wanted her to.”
Read the story on Mary Jane and her friend Golda, who also turned 100, that ran in the local paper here.