Wesley Homes, based in Des Moines, Washington presented a letter of intent to further explore sponsorship of The Kenney in West Seattle.

Wesley Homes operates two facilities in Des Moines and Auburn with plans for Puyallup and Renton in the future. They were founded in 1944. It is affiliated with the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The letter of intent was presented to and accepted by The Kenney board of directors on June 4, 2013. In a press release from The Kenney they said, "It is the next step in the process of completing due diligence before Wesley Homes makes a decision to become the new non-profit sponsor. Due diligence typically involves an in-depth review of the operations, physical plant, legal issues and finances, including discussions with the bank lender. The due diligence is expected to take several weeks."

Ellen Boyer, COO for Wesley Homes said, "What we really want to do is serve seniors in our community and we believe that extending to the West Seattle area would be a good fit with not only our mission but our strategy."

Boyer emphasized that they are "still in the very preliminary stages and what we really do is look at a community to see if there's a need for the type of services we provide."

Wesley Homes currently serves about 500 residents in Des Moines. They also have memory care units in their facilities as does The Kenney.

Non-profit sponsors are governed by a volunteer board of directors and within the non-profit sector, the term “sponsorship” is used instead of “ownership.” She pointed out that in addition to their campuses they operate a home health agency, based in each community. She anticipates doing something similar in West Seattle.

The Kenney board of directors had interviewed and accepted letters of interest from four potential sponsors. The other three organizations all cited that they were interested, but that the timing of the transaction or other factors outside of The Kenney prevented them from moving forward at this time.

In today’s complex health care environment, affiliation with another sponsor has proven to benefit senior living providers and the residents they serve. Being part of a larger sponsoring organization often presents opportunities for group purchasing of supplies and equipment resulting in significant savings. Larger sponsoring organizations also have the capacity to implement more efficient systems for billing, accounting, nursing services, dining programs, human resources and marketing.

The Kenney has been under interim management since summer 2012 and the interim management will remain in place through the sponsorship process. Interim Chief Executive Officer, Ed Mawe, with Ontrac Management Services continues to provide staff leadership. The quality services to residents continue in the fine tradition of The Kenney.