Lyngblomsten

Serving older adults through healthcare, housing, and community-based services.

08/01/2025

07/31/2025

July wrapped up with exciting progress on the Lyngblomsten Como Park courtyard renovation! Crews have added beautiful new landscaping—including plantings of hydrangeas, daylilies, coneflowers, and a variety of trees—rolled out fresh sod, and installed the donor paver garden. Work continues on installing new railings, and The Heritage at Lyngblomsten parking lot is being prepped for a fresh resurfacing. Big changes are taking shape!

07/30/2025

Storytelling magic filled the Lyngblomsten Apartments last week! Our 8-week storytelling class, led by Twin Cities actor Dane Stauffer, wrapped up with a celebration where residents shared the incredible stories they created—funny, heartfelt, and thought-provoking. From laughs to touching moments, each story showcased the creativity and growth of our talented participants. What a beautiful way to celebrate the power of stories!

07/29/2025

Residents of The Heritage at Lyngblomsten visited the Bell Museum during an outing last week. They enjoyed a show at the museum's planetarium and getting to explore the natural history and scientific exhibits—which included touching amphibians!

07/28/2025

Residents from the Lyngblomsten Apartments enjoyed a performance of "Glensheen," a musical at the History Theatre in St. Paul that brings the infamous Duluth mansion murders to the stage. Even more exciting—they got to see their very own storytelling class instructor perform in the show!

07/27/2025

Are you looking for a welcoming place with quality care to call home for you or a loved one? The Lyngblomsten Care Center has openings! Experience the difference of our person-centered approach and commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all those we serve. For more information, contact our admissions team at (651) 632-5301 or admissions@lyngblomsten.org or visit www.Lyngblomsten.org/CareCenter.

The Lyngblomsten Care Center in St. Paul offers a range of care options, including long-term care, transitional care, and memory care.

07/25/2025

Greenery begins its return to the Como Park courtyard as saplings are being planted this week, including white birch, honey locust, serviceberry, and Norway spruce. Lighting fixtures were also installed and wired. Shrubs, sod, and flowers will follow soon! 🌳🪻🪴

07/23/2025

The Minnesota State Fair is a cherished tradition for many of our residents, filled with decades of joyful memories. We're looking for volunteers to help es**rt and accompany them to and around the fairgrounds on opening day, August 21. This is a unique opportunity to connect with older adults, share some laughs, and create new memories together at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Whether you're part of a company, school, community group, or individual, we’d love your help! Sign up today by contacting Melanie at (651) 632-5499, mjagolino@lyngblomsten.org, or visiting www.Lyngblomsten.org/Volunteer.

07/22/2025

Yesterday evening, residents of the Lyngblomsten Care Center enjoyed a delightful concert in the Newman-Benson Chapel, featuring the talented Summer Singers, an a ca****la group. The lively music filled the chapel with joy and brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

07/21/2025

Staff members at the Como Park and Lino Lakes campuses celebrated the annual Years of Service day with a delicious meal, acknowledging all of the contributions staff make to ensure Lyngblomsten is such a great place to work and live.

Address

1415 Almond Avenue
Saint Paul, MN
55108

Telephone

+16516462941

Website

http://www.lyngblomsten.org/

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From Books to Bricks

In 1903, Anna Quale Fergstad gathered together several Norwegian women to form a literary club. Near the end of that year, Mrs. Fergstad expressed her desire for the club to take up charitable work of some sort. Thinking of a vivid picture of the snug little huts along the coast of Norway that sheltered the wives of fishermen who had lost their lives at sea, she realized that, in America, there were many older people without family or friends to care for them. They were in need of some shelter and care. How splendid and useful an undertaking for their club to give at least a few of these deserving kinsfolk a home in which they could spend their last years.

The idea took form on October 19, 1903, when the group formed an organization, the Lyngblomsten Society, dedicated toward that goal. Mrs. Fergstad was named president. The group selected the name Lyngblomsten to commemorate the national flower of Norway, the lyng.

The organization began to grow by establishing "branches" around the Upper Midwest. On February 17, 1906, they incorporated and began fund raising. In 1911 they bought land midway between Minneapolis and St. Paul. In 1912 construction of the home began at Midway Parkway and Pascal Avenue. The home opened in December of that year with 34 older Norwegians moving in.

The home operated on the concept of residents helping with chores as they were able, and receiving help at the level each person needed—very similar to how our continuing care campus works today. It is important to note, then, that Lyngblomsten did not begin as a “nursing home,” but rather as “assisted living”—a term that didn’t exist until decades later.

The Winds of Change

For several decades, the women, their daughters and granddaughters ran the Lyngblomsten Home through the sponsorship of member branches. But as women entered the workforce and had less time for volunteer work, along with increasing government regulations for board and care being established, it was no longer a feasible method.

In 1960, Lyngblomsten was reincorporated and its grounds and assets were gifted to what was then the St. Paul Conference of the American Lutheran Church. The members of the Board of Directors began coming from the churches (instead of from the branches) and staff were hired to handle the day-to-day operations. The branches were transitioned into the new Lyngblomsten Auxiliary.

Today Lyngblomsten is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and partnered in ministry with Twin Cities-area Christian churches. Lyngblomsten welcomes older adults of all faiths and nationalities.

Growing & Changing

In the early 1960s, the skilled nursing facility was added (a requirement given by the churches as a condition of forming the partnership). The next decade saw the addition of the Lyngblomsten Apartments and the Lyngblomsten Community Senior Center (known today as 2nd Half with Lyngblomsten). With heavy hearts, in 1993 the original building that housed the Lyngblomsten Home for the Aged was demolished to make way for the Heritage Apartments (market rate).

In the 1990s Lyngblomsten began developing community outreach programs (Care Team Ministry and Parish Nurse Ministry, specifically), known today as Home- and Community-Based Services. Work also began on adopting the Swedish model of care, known as “service houses,” a concept that would be modified a decade later, ushering in the neighborhood model of person-centered care. Superior Street Cottages located off campus opened in 1999.

In the early 2000s, major fundraising made way for the massive remodeling of the care center, readying the facility for “neighborhoods” and person-centered care. The shift in how care was provided took several years to fully integrate, but as an early adopter and embracing our call to innovation, Lyngblomsten soon became known as a leader in the Culture Change movement—the terminology used to describe a new era in skilled nursing care.

In 2005, our first transitional care unit opened, serving those who needed a place to recuperate between hospital and home. On the community side, our outreach programs were expanded to help support the growing number of older adults, including the launch of The Gathering. In 2006, with much fanfare, Lyngblomsten celebrated the 100th anniversary of its incorporation.