Homebuyer's Club helps Baptist East employees purchase a home


A lifelong apartment dweller, Lionel Fleming now relishes such chores as cutting the grass and fixing up his new home.

Fleming, a nurse support tech on Baptist Hospital East’s Cardiovascular unit, made the move to his house in September 2005, after completing a new program the hospital offers to help employees become homeowners.

“It’s nice (being a homeowner),” Fleming said. “I can cut the grass, work in the yard and around the house and talk with my neighbors. I think that it’s great that Baptist East is working with the Housing Partnership to help employees purchase a home.”

Baptist East teamed with the Housing Partnership Inc., a Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved Housing Counseling Agency in Louisville, in early 2005 to offer “Working for a Home,” an eight-course program to help employees learn more about purchasing and maintaining a home (or condominium).

Courses cover such topics as financial resource management, shopping for a home and negotiating the sales contract, shopping for a mortgage loan, borrowing money for a home, what you need to know before loan closing, homeowners insurance, home inspection, being a good neighbor and maintaining a household budget.

Twenty-five employees enrolled in the first set of classes. Of those employees, 14 completed all eight sessions. Employees who participated in the courses could also receive one-on-one financial counseling.

Nine employees took advantage of the assistance and three are now homeowners (the others are either currently shopping for homes or are continuing counseling).

Baptist East further assists employees with up to $2,000 for a down payment and/or closing costs on their new home.

Fleming, a single father, was the first employee to complete the program and purchase a home. He moved to Louisville in 1999, and most recently lived in a small two-bedroom apartment with his three daughters, Alanna, Genevive and LeAndra.

With the help of Donna Small, a financial counselor with the Housing Partnership, Realtor Judy Birch and the mortgage team at Republic Bank, Fleming and his family spent their first Thanksgiving and first Christmas in their new home.

When not tinkering with his fixer-upper home, spending time with his fiancée or making sure his daughters do their homework, Fleming takes classes to become a radiology technician.

Fleming’s drive made him an excellent candidate for the program. “I think it’s exciting that we have been able to help employees with not only the education piece of this program, but the financial counseling and assistance to purchase a home,” said Vice President Tony Bohn.

“It’s an excellent benefit to be able to offer to our Baptist East family and truly help employees become owners and not renters. It’s been a phenomenal partnership (with the Housing Partnership) that has helped improve our family-friendly environment at Baptist East.”

Courses cover such topics as finances, shopping for a home and negotiating a contract, borrowing money for a home, what you need to know before loan closing, home inspection, being a good neighbor and maintaining a household budget.

Baptist East, a 407-bed acute care hospital in the heart of St. Matthews, is a leading healthcare provider in the Louisville area. With a workforce of more than 3,100, it is one of Louisville’s Top 10 employers.

Accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Baptist East has garnered a number of awards, including Top 100 Hospitals as chosen by Solucient®, Top 20 of the Best Places to Work in Kentucky, two-time winner of a Business/Family Partnership Designation; two-time winner of a Work/Life Balance award from Greater Louisville Inc., and the Katherine G. Peden Award for Corporate Excellence.