In the 1950s, Massachusetts initiated rigorous public safety regulations affecting residential programs for older adults. In 1966 Trinity was closed. At the same time, the St. Luke’s Home faced similar challenges and closed its doors in 1967. A committee under the guidance of the Rt. Rev. Frederic C. Lawrence, Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, was established to locate a new facility. The committee elected to join the Board of Trustees of both St. Luke’s and Trinity Church with the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts to establish a new residential facility. The new home would carry forth the mission of both the Trinity Church Home and St. Luke’s Home to care for older adults. This unique triumvirate built a 164-bed, five story brick building on the site of the former Trinity Church Home for the Aged. Dr. Theodore Parker Ferris, Trinity’s rector, asked Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill to lend his name to this home that would provide the best possible care to all people, without regard to race or religion. In July 1970, Sherrill House officially opened.

In 1995, the operation of The Frank Wood Home for Convalescents and Incurables, a not-for-profit facility formerly located in Dorchester, joined forces with Sherrill House. The Frank Wood Home’s resources added significantly to the financial strength of Sherrill House and strengthened Sherrill House’s role as a leader in elder care in Greater Boston.

In 2003, Sherrill House began construction to add a new wing and fully renovate the facility. The new building, with its numerous amenities and technological enhancements, was designed to improve residents’ quality of life and to make the working environment more pleasant and efficient for staff. This project also increased resident and patient capacity from 164 to 196 beds, making Sherrill House one of the largest nursing facilities in Boston.

In 2004, in response to community needs, a new, short-term transitional care unit was established to provide rehabilitation services to individuals who required care following a hospitalization.

In 2007, Sherrill House celebrated its centennial anniversary, a culmination of one hundred years of elder care at its Jamaica Plain location.

In June 2010, after two years of planning and fundraising, a lovely new therapeutic garden, The Thompson Family Serenity Garden, opened at Sherrill House. The garden provides a safe and secure outdoor space for residents and their families to sit and relax.

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we eliminated 32 rooms to offer the highest quality infection control. The pandemic was one of the most challenging times in our history. Staff banded together and supported each other, as well as patients and residents, to get through the most challenging days. In 2022, we began another construction project to build back 18 private rooms. We completed this renovation in Fall 2023, bringing us to 182 beds.

Sherrill House represents a century-old tradition of attending to the needs of the most vulnerable among us. Today, we remain committed, as our founders were, to providing the very best care possible to our patients, residents, and families.