The Ryan Foundation donated $465,000 to the New Cassel Foundation in June of 2021.
The New Cassel Foundation benefits the New Cassel Retirement Home, which is both a retirement home and licensed assisted living center in Omaha that encourages full living by providing services and activities that promote a healthy lifestyle.
Benefactor of the Ryan Foundation, Eileen Ryan, was an advocate of New Cassel’s ministry while she was alive. She previously donated to establish the Ryan Dining Room in 2010.
$350,000 of the donation is a continuation of support from the Ryan Foundation and will primarily be used to assist New Cassel with the cost of replacing the existing HVAC system with a state of the art - 99% energy efficient – and user-friendly heating and cooling system. The total cost of the project is estimated at $2.1 million. The Ryan Foundation has donated $1.1 million towards this project to date. Cynthia Petrich, the President of the New Cassel Foundation, said the following of the Ryan Foundation’s support of the project; “The Ryan Foundation has made this much-needed project a reality! The 1960s heating and air conditioning system has failing and corroded pipes, decaying loop supply lines, a pneumatic system that is obsolete and deteriorating, and pumps that need constant maintenance with parts that are discontinued. No longer will our maintenance team have to wait days to heat up or cool down the water system so it provides the correct water temperature to feed the system. With the unpredictability of Nebraska weather, this has always been a constant struggle. Never again will there be the chance of a campus-wide system failure because we will now have individual apartment units. No longer will New Cassel be held to state inspection standards due to our antiquated system. The new system will save man-hours, chemical conditioning costs, and additional equipment costs.”
The remaining $115,000 of funds are intended to help New Cassel integrate additional Medicaid participants in the Franciscan Adult Day Center program. The Center offers daytime support services for adults with functional loss, Alzheimer's, or other aging frailties and provides a viable option for seniors who can no longer be at home alone or are isolated due to disability. Melanie, the Director of the program said that she is “...thrilled to death to reach more people and families who were unable to be part of a day service before.”