WesleyLife history

Using a gift of the stately and renowned Chamberlain Estate in Des Moines, the Conference in 1947 established Wesley Acres, Inc., as a faith-inspired, not-for-profit ministry with a mission to serve older adults.

Heritage House, situated in the heart of Atlantic, Iowa, was built and welcomed its first residents in 1962.

Wesley Acres, Inc., was renamed South Iowa Methodist Homes Inc. in 1963.

The group selected Lumberton as the place to develop their next retirement home with groundbreaking held on September 11, 1973.

By March 1977 construction was complete and the community officially opened its doors to the first residents on April 1, 1977.

In 1987, a corporate reorganization renamed South Iowa Methodist Homes, Inc., as Wesley Retirement Services.

Wesley-Methodist Adult Day was established on the Wesley Acres campus as a joint venture of Wesley and Iowa Methodist Medical Center in 1988.

The Village in Indianola was built in 1991, and Park Centre in Newton opened a year later, with Willowbrook Adult Day relocating to the Park Centre campus.

In 2001, Wesley Retirement Services' corporate offices moved from the Chamberlain Mansion to its present offices in Johnston, Iowa.

In 2004, recognizing the need to assist older adults in their homes, Wesley at Home, a Medicare-certified in-home health care agency, was launched in Des Moines to serve Polk, Warren and Dallas counties.

In 2006, Wesley at Home opened in Ames to serve Story, Hamilton, and Boone counties.

In 2008, Wesley at Home expanded to serve older adults in the counties of Cass, Guthrie, and Audubon.

Edgewater opened in West Des Moines in 2009, offering resort-style amenities in all levels of living.

Pella Regional Health Center transferred ownership of Fair Haven East, Pella Manor, and Jefferson Place to WesleyLife on January 1, 2010.

In April of 2011, Wesley Pines opened a brand new Assisted Living and Health Center that replaced its former building.

In 2013, WesleyLife introduced Wesley Wheels, a transportation service in Central Iowa.

In 2014, Hearthstone opened The Cottages, a community dedicated to transforming the experiences of assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.

All WesleyLife locations earned recognition as Blue Zones Designated Worksites in 2015.

And later in 2018, Brio of Johnston opened, bringing opportunities for older adults to live lives of vivacity and activity in Johnston, Iowa.