Retirement facilities have evolved significantly in the past 50 years, and Virginia’s Blue Ridge is an ideal place to experience such progress.
As the Baby Boom roars toward a conclusion and most of its members reach retirement age, eldercare facilities have found a distinct maturity. They have added services, refined care, expanded their physical space and generally fought to stay a step ahead of the needs of an aging population.
Most recently, residents of Virginia’s Blue Ridge read the news that the region’s two largest for-profit eldercare living facilities have become one: Friendship Retirement Community and Richfield Living. Richfield will use the purchase price to reduce a high level of debt. Richfield is 100 years old; Friendship is 57.
Retirement communities can cost $2,000-$5,000 a month for care, but when you consider the separate cost of amenities senior living facilities offer, there is a good case to be made that even at the top end of the price range, they represent a bargain.
Consider that those amenities may include:
- Housekeeping, maintenance and groundskeeping
- A variety of floor plans.
- Chef-prepared meals served in dining halls or kitchenettes for those who prefer to cook.
- Utilities.
- A wide range of activities that help create a sense of community.
- Transportation for errands, appointments or recreation.
- Wellness programs.
- A safe environment.
- Access to amenities like a library, physical therapy services, swimming pool, hair services, movies, games and clubs and a lot more.
Here are a few examples of the offerings of retirement facilities convenient to those in Virginia’s Blue Ridge:
“With Richfield Living merging into the Friendship family, the primary benefit for our residents is additional access across the long-term care continuum,” says Joseph Hoff, president and CEO of Friendship. “Each campus has its own highlights, and our residents will be able to enjoy the best of both Friendship and Richfield Living. Furthermore, combining talent from both organizations allows for more opportunities to strengthen our existing offerings, expand our staff and extend our outreach.”
Even before the merger, Hoff says, Friendship has been “at the forefront of care evolution in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. In the last several years, Friendship has partnered with various organizations on a sepsis study, falls and injury prevention program, virtual medicine pilot and congestive heart failure (CHF) protocol which has been published in medical journals. Our health care continuum affords our residents peace of mind knowing that we’re able to meet them wherever they are in their aging or healthcare journey — whether that’s home care, skilled therapy, outpatient services, adult-day or congregate living.”
“Richfield Living has interdisciplinary teams who work together to discuss transitions on, and throughout our campus,” Richfield CFO Mary Clements says. “Concerns or needs that our residents may be facing are discussed, and a plan is put in place to determine how we can assist them. Richfield evaluates prospective residents to ensure each is in the appropriate level of care within our community, whether it is independent or assisted living, short-term rehab or long-term care. Richfield also offers outpatient rehab/therapy on-site should the need arise.”
Ellen D’Ardenne, Executive Director of The Glebe Retirement Community in Botetourt County, weighs in: “The Glebe recently engaged in a master planning process to study how the community needs to change and adapt in the future to remain relevant for future consumers.
“One of the key focus areas identified in The Glebe’s master plan was figuring out how to enhance the dining and culinary experience for residents in all levels of care at the community—not just independent living. To that end The Glebe will be upgrading the kitchens in assisted living and health care with the goal of creating a cook-to-order meal experience for residents in those levels of care. We want the culinary experience to be equally good in every level of care at the community. The Glebe will also be expanding dining venues for residents in independent living.”
D’Ardenne emphasizes that “The Glebe’s resident-directed care model allows residents to be in the driver’s seat for all care decisions. This model ensures maximum control of care delivery and support for each resident. The Glebe will continue to invest in the building and grounds to ensure the community supports maximum freedom and support to residents and their families throughout their life.”
“This year marks the 30th anniversary of Brandon Oaks as a Life Plan Community, offering the full continuum of care levels and the 50th anniversary of Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehab Center, which was the very first care level Brandon Oaks offered,” Carter Hanna, Director of Sales and Marketing at Brandon Oaks Life Plan Community, points out. “Over the course of our history we have, and continue to, evolve for our residents. Over the past 10 years alone we have added luxury independent living apartments, introduced home care and home health care services, grown and completely renovated our Nursing and Rehab Center and created a dedicated memory support unit.”
Paying for the wide variety of services is a challenge that can be significantly solved with insurance. “Both Medicare and Medicaid have been taking steps to keep up with the increasing aging population and the unique needs of these individuals,” says Hoff. “Within the last several years, both Medicare and Virginia Medicaid have introduced Values-Based-Purchasing programs whereby providers are financially incentivized to provide high-quality care to their residents in terms of preventing re-hospitalizations and maintaining sufficient staffing levels, among other metrics.”
“Medicaid does not cover the cost of the care needed for residents which makes it challenging for any facility,” Clements adds. “Medicare does a good job with reimbursing facilities for the care provided. It takes into account all aspects of care and pays facilities to provide that care.”
Brandon Oaks’ Hanna offers that COVID-19 posed a host of challenges to facilities. “COVID was a difficult time for any senior living organization. Between regulations changing weekly, sometimes daily, and the ability to staff our facilities while working through different ways to provide care, we were still able to provide high quality care to all residents.
“Safety of our residents and staff is always our number one priority and that did not change during the pandemic. We found that many of our residents were thankful they lived in a community during the pandemic because they were able to get everything they needed on campus and they weren’t alone.
“In a post-pandemic world, we are seeing the impact that isolation has on people’s emotional and physical health. Once restrictions started to lift, we saw many people coming to us wanting to move into a community and take advantage of the on-site care that we offer.”
Programs and services continue to evolve. “Friendship continues to develop programs and services that support and enhance the lives of our residents and the community,” says Hoff. “For example, we offer an Adult Medical Day Care at the Feinour Center, an option for those who need oversight for a loved one while they work or volunteer.
“Friendship Home Care affords folks living on campus or in the community a chance to stay at home while receiving some help, such as medication set-up for the week, housekeeping or sitter services. Friendship also recently brought on a health care clinic where our residents and employees are able to access a medical provider right on campus.”
Hanna points out that “two of our newest offerings at Brandon Oaks are our newly-expanded memory support center and dog park. Our memory support center includes 26 private rooms in a newly renovated space, a secure outdoor patio space and the Virginia Blue Ridge’s only sensory garden specifically for memory care residents. We understand the current and future need for specialized care for those with memory impairments. Secondly, we are pet-friendly at Brandon Oaks and many of our residents bring their dogs (and cats — we love them too!) with them when they move in. While we have plenty of outdoor space to walk around campus, we can now offer a fenced, off-leash exercise option for their dogs. This was a special addition to our campus because it was a resident-led initiative with staff support.”
Richfield’s Clements concludes it best: “Engaging residents with various activities and including residents in the planning of activities is imperative — an active lifestyle is key, whether it is mental, physical or emotional engagement.”
And in Virginia’s Blue Ridge, there are plenty of options, amenities and communities ready to usher current and prospective retirees into a welcoming, fun atmosphere that’s sure to please every lifestyle.