Our Story

We change lives for the better.

RiverWoods was founded by a grassroots group of residents, around a kitchen table, who wanted a new way to live an active life with the promise of health care if and when it was needed. That dream came true with the opening of our first campus in 1994, and we haven’t stopped dreaming or growing since.

The RiverWoods Group

What we have found is that we are better, together. Now a robust family of charitable not-for-profit Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs), RiverWoods is at the forefront of reimagining active adulthood, and has attracted staff who are leading the way with innovation.

Today, our three CCRCs, RiverWoods Exeter, RiverWoods Manchester, and RiverWoods Durham provide community, purpose, and peace of mind to a growing number of adults.

The RiverWoods Group’s purpose is twofold: to help our existing communities thrive, and to find new opportunities for growth in the future, whether it is building traditional communities, or serving in a new way.

We live our founders’ mission every day, and appreciate the opportunity for this purposeful work.

Learn More: Download a copy of our Purpose and Commitments, or watch the short video below.

RiverWoods Group: Purpose and Commitments

The RiverWoods Way

Our passion as employees is to pursue purposeful work and to make a difference in our residents’ lives. Our jobs may be to cook, clean, mow lawns, fix appliances, paint, build, check medications, and serve a meal, but every employee’s primary responsibility is to care for our residents and ensure they live their best possible life — this is The RiverWoods Way.

The RiverWoods Core Values

  • Be Yourself
  • Respect
  • Not for Self
  • Sustainability
  • Curiosity
  • Community

Living our core values creates our culture.

Our employees embody our core values in every interaction, because they believe and understand that every person matters, every job is meaningful, and every moment counts.

Our Inclusivity Philosophy

“Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

~Vernã Myers

We define inclusivity as welcoming people. All people. We are thoughtful and intentional in developing our community to welcome the broadest spectrum of people, and we seek to consistently cast the widest possible net to expand the pool of potential residents, employees, and trustees. We are stronger for our differences. We are stronger, together.