About Us
Our History
The present Botsford Senior Living Center and Charles H. Williams Clinical and Administration Building were originally home to the Michigan Hospital for Crippled Children. In 1919, then Mayor of Detroit James Couzens made a charitable gift of $1,100,00 as a birthday present to his wife for the construction and establishment of an endowment fund for the school.
Albert Kahn was commissioned to design the facility. The buildings are characteristic of Kahn's style -- the red brick, slate roofs, and arched doorways. Limestone tile inlays depicting children at play adorn the building exterior. The first of the two buildings opened in 1923, the other in 1926.
During its operation, the School became recognized as a major center for orthopedic work and services for crippled children. Dr. William E. Blodgett, an eminent orthopedist, was on the School's faculty.
Sister Kenny spent considerable time here making major contributions in the treatment of polio with the use of hydrotherapy, during this period, the school became known as the Sister Kenny Hospital.
With the discovery of the polio vaccine in the early 1950s, the horrid scourge of poliomyelitis began to dwindle dramatically in number of cases, resulting in a decreased patient load at the school. After 1955, the buildings were no longer used to serve crippled children.
From 1956 to 1961, the State of Michigan rented the facility and used it to provide programs for children who needed special attention because of mental or psychological disturbance. With the establishment of a special unit for disturbed children at Northville State Hospital (Hawthorne Center), the programs were transferred and the facility offered for sale.
The land and buildings were privately purchased in 1969, and converted into a 179 bed nursing care facility which became Farmington Nursing Home.
In 1984, Botsford Hospital acquired the nursing home as part of a corporate reorganization. It established Botsford Continuing Care Corporation, a not-for-profit organization with a separate Board of Directors responsible for developing long-term care services. In 1992, the Board changed the nursing home's name to Botsford Continuing Care Center, reflecting its relationship with the hospital and the greater degree of skilled and advanced health care services it provides to the frail elderly being served.
We have provided care to residents who lived here as children -- continuing to meet their needs in their older years as it did in their childhood.