In 1951, the cornerstone for the original Berks Heim was laid. Berks Heim faces south on a gently rolling slope near the center of the 875-acre welfare farm. A contest of Berks County school children was held to name our facility. Sandra Kutz, an 8-year-old student won the contest.  She stated, "Berks Heim is Pennsylvania Dutch for Berks Home".  She keyed the letters in "HEIM" as follows:  

• H for Governor Hiester, a former owner of the land 
• E for Essick, who donated the tract to the county 
• I for institution district, which administers the home and hospital 
• M for a memorial to the aged and infirm

While our language has changed in the past 70 years, Berks Heim is proud of its legacy - a tradition of caring.

The current state-of-the-art building was built in 2005, housing 420 skilled nursing care beds. Berks Heim continues its tradition of caring offering skilled long-term nursing care, a secure memory care program and rehabilitation services provided by Advantage Care Rehabilitation. While Berks Heim overlooks lush green countryside, it is located just seven miles from Penn Square in Reading. Regular bus schedules link the home with the heart of the city.  

The Past and Governor Hiester

On this same plot of land, on November 18, 1752, a man was born who was to become governor of Pennsylvania—Joseph Hiester. The Hiester family farmed the tract of land extending from Bern Church to the Tulpehocken Creek in Bern Township. Essick Acres today is part of that original plot.

Hiester took an active part in public affairs and in the development of Reading and Berks County. He sat with the General Assembly when it ratified the Constitution, and helped frame the Pennsylvania constitution in 1790. That same year Hiester became the first state senator from Berks County. Then after serving in Congress, he was elected governor of the Commonwealth in 1820. During his greatest prominence, Hiester was regarded as the richest man in Berks County. His farms in Cumru, Bern, and Muhlenberg Townships and holdings elsewhere totaled nearly 2,000 acres.

Learn more about Berks Heim's history, read Mr. Essick Makes A Gift.