Lyngblomsten

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

02/20/2026

02/19/2026

Today is Ash Wednesday. For many Christians, this is a holy day of prayer and fasting and marks the first day of Lent. We wish those observing a blessed Lenten season.

02/18/2026

A belated Happy Valentine's Day from The Heritage at Lyngblomsten! Residents and staff celebrated love and February birthdays in style recently and wish you a very sweet week!

02/17/2026

Happy 120th Anniversary, Lyngblomsten! Today, February 17, marks the 120th anniversary of Lyngblomsten's incorporation as a charitable organization in the state of Minnesota. Residents, families, employees, and visitors celebrated in the care center lobby with cupcakes and a trivia quiz all about the twelve decades of Lyngblomsten's history. We loved seeing everyone have fun learning about how Lyngblomsten has been enhancing the lives of older adults since 1906.

02/16/2026

Cupid dropped by the Lyngblomsten Apartments late last week, bringing sweet treats and colorful roses for residents to enjoy. Happy belated Valentine's Day!

02/12/2026

Are you looking for a welcoming place with quality care to call home for yourself 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 https://bit.ly/4bRu2lh.

02/10/2026

To celebrate Black History Month, residents at the Lyngblomsten Apartments decorated with posters honoring cultural figures, marking important events, and highlighting some lesser-known parts of local history.

02/08/2026

Our Como Park residents were treated to musical performances from the St. Paul Postal Band and the acoustic guitar/electric bass duo of Silk and Sandpaper this week.

02/05/2026

It's water color week for The Heritage at Lyngblomsten. Residents took inspiration from Valentine's Day as well as landscapes and more abstract subjects. Brighten up your day with our artists' creations!

02/04/2026

It's a very special Black History Month this year, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the observance. The AARP's chosen theme this year focuses on health matters of the mind, body and soul. See the AARP website for more: https://www.aarp.org/events-history/black-history-month-events-2026/.

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.