2015 Health Care Champions Long-term Care Provider: John and Susan Foster

John and Susan Foster have really built lives together.

For 33 years, the husband and wife have worked as a team to develop, manage and support senior-focused health care facilities in the Ozarks and beyond.

John got a jump-start in the business, beginning work in construction, development and operations of health care centers in 1970. Twelve years in, he teamed up with Susan, and the two have worked hand-in-hand ever since to meet the housing and health care needs of seniors.

“We had fallen in love with working together as a team and with a love for our elders that we served,” Susan says. “We started with a strong work ethic, and by simply challenging our personal skill sets to always provide a higher quality service. Before we both knew it, our role within the Ozarks had become a personal journey that reached our hearts and those we served.”

Through Foster Development Inc., John and Susan were able to provide health care management of facilities developed through parent company Foster Hospitality Group LLC, founded by John’s dad  Bill Foster. And they’ve stayed busy over the years.

Between 1982 and 1999, they managed care for over 10,000 residents in skilled nursing and home health across 18 Missouri counties. Between 1970 and 1999, John and Susan collectively helped develop nine skilled nursing facilities, including Springfield Park Care Center, the Lebanon Care Center and Nixa Park Care Center; four assisted living communities such as The Terraces in Lebanon and Springfield; two independent living communities under the name Bedford Park in Springfield and Lebanon; a home-health agency dubbed Elder-Care Home Health Agency and Hospice; two institutional pharmacies, one in Lebanon and one in Springfield; and manage five properties that including Joe Clark Communities of Nevada and the Dixon Park Care Center.

Between 2000 and 2011, they developed and operated four residential care communities in Missouri and three assisted living facilities under the Culpepper Place name. Properties were bundled together and sold in 2011 to a Florida-based real estate investment trust, but management of facilities was maintained through April when properties were sold again to a company with its own management division.

Since 2014, the couple have developed and still operate Culpepper Place of Collierville, Tenn., and are developing Culpepper Place of Bartlett, Tenn.

“What originally started as a dream in the hearts of two young servants grew exponentially into a regional reality that has reached seniors in 24 communities and across three states,” Susan says.

For the Fosters, who for years have carried the motto “Our family takes care of your family,” a devotion for the people they serve has run throughout their careers.

“Our lives were individually dedicated, personally and professionally, to being on-call 24 hours each and every day,” Susan says. “While this was a rigorous process within each community, it led us to ensuring excellence within our care to meet the needs of our elders.”