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Larry Haubner laughs as residents and staff members Ellmore |
BY JIM HALL
The friends of Larry "Curly" Haubner have started a fundraising campaign to allow him to remain in the assisted-living center where he lives.
A Web site, Savelarry.org, went online last week. Organizers hope to collect $60,000, the amount needed to pay Haubner's bills for two years.
"This is simply about giving somebody the respect and dignity that they've earned and deserve in their final years," said Mark Ellmore, one of the organizers.
Haubner, 105, has lived at Greenfield Assisted Living of Fredericksburg in southern Stafford County for three years.
Prior to that, he lived alone in Fredericksburg and was a fixture downtown, riding his bicycle and singing selections from his favorite operas.
He is in good health but has no family. He has outlived his savings and may have to move to a nursing home.
Haubner pays $3,500 a month to stay in a private room at Greenfield, said Carol Ewing, president of Bridges, a Fredericksburg senior-care company that has his power of attorney.
His income totals $1,000 a month, from Social Security and a private retirement account.
Ewing has been paying the difference from a savings account that Haubner had prior to moving to Greenfield. But that account is now empty.
Ewing said she has not been able to find other funding, including veteran's benefits, so she plans to apply for Medicaid for Haubner and move him to a nursing home.
Greenfield, off White Oak Road, is a "private-pay" home and does not accept Medicaid clients.
Greenfield Senior Living, the parent company of the Stafford home, is headquartered in Falls Church and has 10 homes.
Olga Soehngen, a spokeswoman for the company, said that Greenfield supports the community effort and wants Haubner to remain at the home. She declined to guarantee that he would be able to live out his life there.
Ewing said that Haubner is happy at Greenfield and well cared for there. He does not need the skilled care of a nursing home, and she fears that he will suffer if he must move.
When Ellmore heard that Haubner might have to move, he contacted Ewing about a fundraising effort.
"Literally, this is about saving a life," Ellmore said.
Ellmore is a resident of Alexandria and a mortgage banker. He also is a Republican candidate for the 8th Congressional District seat in Northern Virginia.
Ellmore met Haubner two years ago while visiting his 89-year-old mother, Thelma Ellmore. "I see him every time I go there," Ellmore said. "He sits at the breakfast table with my mom."
Ewing said that Haubner is not aware of his financial situation. "I'm not going to be the one to bring it up," she said. "I'm always worried about worrying elderly people regarding their day-to-day living situation."
Jim Hall: 540/374-5433| For more information about Larry Haubner, contact Carol Ewing at 540/785-4512. Donations may be sent to Bridges Senior Care Solutions, Box 1310, Fredericksburg, Va., 22402. Checks should be payable to "Larry Haubner." Online donations can be made at Savelarry.org. |
