Speaker 1
Good Saturday morning to everybody and welcome to your next chapter senior living radio show a production of the Heights at Avery Heights a one-of-a-kind senior living community centrally located near the most entertaining and historical spots in Connecticut. Now it’s never too late to grow and enjoy new realms of the mind and heart. This show will discuss exciting opportunities, important resources for older adults, financial well-being, senior living communities, and emotional health, and a whole lot more.

Speaker 1
Along with director of senior living specialists. You know, we’re talking about director. So you’re like many, many hats.

Speaker 1
You prefer to be called a senior living specialist.

Speaker 2
That I know. Yes. But a director at home.

Speaker 1
Ha, ha, ha.

Speaker 2
Director of operations. Yes. At home. And human resources, yes.

Speaker 1
At home. All right. But you wear many hats because you are director of marketing.

Speaker 1
I do the marketing. Okay. You could also be a director of admissions.

Speaker 1
Yes. Correct? Definitely.

Speaker 1
But the one thing you just, I just found this out a little while ago and it makes a lot of sense because this is how I see you. You really are a senior living specialist.

Speaker 2
Yeah. And that’s really the main one I like to see. To me, it’s more inviting.

Speaker 2
It’s more comfortable. I was told the other day I have a calming voice on the radio. Wow.

Speaker 2
my husband was like what look out delilah exactly right today we’re going to talk about

Speaker 1
yes what he left you oh that’s no now you’re giving advice you’re not just i have a song that suits your situation i will survive what a chick song yes we’re talking about like wedding songs where the women a couple of weeks ago uh jimmy jay my producer uh and i were talking about songs that just get played. They’re timeless classics. Yes. They’re just as popular today as they were when they got released in an I Will’s Gloria Gainer. I Will Survive in the late 70s.

Speaker 2
Every woman has screamed that in the car. Of course! As she’s driving away from, you know? Yeah.

Speaker 1
But if you go to a wedding, all the girls, they all congregate together. All the women are singing it on the top of their lungs. Who plays it at their wedding?

Speaker 1
Oh, that’s a big song. At the wedding? I know. I know. When you start

Speaker 2
listening to the lyrics, it’s like… That’s like A pre, you know.

Speaker 1
I’ll never forget. It’s not a good idea. No, you’re right.

Speaker 1
Yeah. You’re right. Why would you want that song?

Speaker 1
Why? Because I will survive. Right.

Speaker 1
Okay. I used to, I owned a company years ago. We DJed weddings.

Speaker 1
Yes. Okay. So there was, this is going back early 90s. Wow.

Speaker 1
Okay. Somebody had their

Speaker 2
I was in high school.

Speaker 1
No, that’s not true. You were not. I know how old you are.

Speaker 1
I was at the prom. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1
Maybe as a guest of someone’s prom date. Maybe.

Speaker 2
Maybe.

Speaker 1
Their wedding song was by the police. Every Breath You Take. Oh.

Speaker 1
Right? You know the song? Oh, that’s like a stalker.

Speaker 1
Thank you. That was my point. And I finally, that was their song.

Speaker 1
And I said, you know, because I sat down and I’m like, all right, let me know what’s your wedding song. And they’re like, well, Every Breath You Take. And I’m like, oh, okay.

Speaker 1
Well, yeah. And she’s like, why? And I go, just out of curiosity, why did you choose as your wedding song?

Speaker 1
Because I’m a stalker. That was the first song they ever danced to.

Speaker 2
Oh, I get that.

Speaker 1
They were somewhere and he asked her to dance and boom, boom, boom. And that’s what started the whole thing. And he said, they looked at my face. And I guess without me saying anything, it was very expressive.

Speaker 2
But you shouldn’t have to explain your wedding song.

Speaker 1
Well, I asked, though.

Speaker 2
But I’m saying you shouldn’t have to say, did you explain it at the wedding? Did you go, this is the song they danced to?

Speaker 1
No, no, no. I’ll finish this. They go, what’s wrong, Gary? And I go, oh, no, nothing.

Speaker 1
No, what’s wrong? And I said, are you sure you want the answer? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1
I go, that’s why I asked why you chose that song. You said it was the first song you ever danced to. Makes a lot of sense, except that’s not really a love song.

Speaker 1
And I go, listen to the lyrics. In fact, let’s take it into the studio right now. Because I had a studio in the office, and I played them the song, and they read the lyrics.

Speaker 1
Because they used to sing it to each other, evidently, without paying much attention. And they’re like, this is about stalking somebody. They changed their wedding song.

Speaker 2
Wow. Where’d they go with?

Speaker 1
Here and now? Luther Randall? That was like the wedding song of like 1990.

Speaker 2
Yes.

Speaker 1
Yeah.

Speaker 2
Mine was Crazy Girl.

Speaker 1
Crazy Girl?

Speaker 2
Yep. It’s like a country western song and I can’t remember who sings it yet. Are you a big country western fan?

Speaker 2
I love country western. My dad was from Kentucky. Really?

Speaker 2
I’m a huge country western fan.

Speaker 1
Who did Country Girl? I’ll have to look that up.

Speaker 2
Yeah. Crazy Girl.

Speaker 1
I mean, crazy girl.

Speaker 2
Yeah, because my husband used to, he just used to call me crazy, but he said he still loved me, even though I was kind of, yeah.

Speaker 1
You had a wild streak in you, didn’t you?

Speaker 2
I did. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2
An anger streak. Yeah, don’t get me mad. And that’s so interesting.

Speaker 2
Actually, I’m very calmed down. I’ve become very zen.

Speaker 1
You’ve said this in the past, months ago. Yeah. Which I find interesting because, as you just say, juxtapose that against your very soothing voice that you were mentioning a moment ago.

Speaker 2
Exactly.

Speaker 1
I can’t see you as a very angry person. At all.

Speaker 2
Well, the more you forgive, the more grace you give.

Speaker 1
You just found the secret.

Speaker 2
You get rid of. And I didn’t even realize that until I started doing it. The more you get rid of baggage, the better off you are.

Speaker 1
That’s the secret to, I think, a longevity in life.

Speaker 2
It is.

Speaker 1
Got to let it go.

Speaker 2
Because when you’re carrying all that around and you’re just angry. And people see it. Like you said, people can see stuff in your face.

Speaker 2
People can see it. It comes out. Oh, Eli Young Band.

Speaker 2
That’s what it was. Oh, okay. I don’t even know if they still make songs.

Speaker 2
So that’s why.

Speaker 1
I’ve heard of the band. I don’t know if they’re still around, but of course I’ve heard of the band.

Speaker 2
It’s a funny song.

Speaker 1
You know, I’ll be playing it later. I’m on my way home.

Speaker 2
Don’t listen too close to the words.

Speaker 1
Uh-oh. You’re one of those as well.

Speaker 2
Yeah. Our song actually did have to be explained. So now, yeah.

Speaker 1
The DJ explained it all? No.

Speaker 2
That’s so dull.

Speaker 1
You did?

Speaker 2
No. No, we just knew. No one even asked me. I’m sure they were sitting there like, what the? Where’s here and now?

Speaker 1
What year did you get married?

Speaker 2
We’re going to be eight years now. Eight years? Eight years. yeah it’s kind of crazy i was looking uh you know i know because on facebook some pictures just started to pop up because it’s may 14th it’s coming out oh look at actually anniversary of my job may 9th may 14th my wedding yeah so it’s 2016 something like that again the only reason why i know is because it popped up on facebook i have so many things going on in my mind my age the year i was married my kids ages i yeah i listen about the doctor’s office now this is your child used to drive my daughter crazy because she was like you don’t know my birthday you don’t know my year.

Speaker 1
Do you find yourself having to write more things

Speaker 2
down? Oh, definitely. I have list

Speaker 1
upon list. Otherwise, forget it.

Speaker 2
I have this list right here, like what we’re going to talk about. Before we get into today’s

Speaker 1
show, what’s new over at Avery Heights? We’ve got our open houses.

Speaker 2
Our annual open houses. May 6th, we have the first one. We’re having a lunch and a presentation this year.

Speaker 2
Actually, our guest for next week’s show, Ben Rayo, is going to be on. He is the founder of Mom’s House. He’s going to be talking about paying for long-term care.

Speaker 2
So he’s going to be kind of given a broad brush of it. Great guy. And, of course, you know, he’s passionate about it because something happened with his family.

Speaker 2
You find that so often. So he’s a great guy. And then on the 13th, we’re having Amstin Home Transition Solutions.

Speaker 2
They’re the gentlemen and ladies who do our, you know, our moving. So they’re going to be talking about downsizing, what you must know before you move. So really good topics for people, you know, things that people always have questions on.

Speaker 2
That’s awesome. Yeah. Some people get lunch, they get the presentation, they take a little tour.

Speaker 2
You know, there’s always – We’re very hands-off. We’re not going to be like – we’re not locking the doors. It’s not a timeshare deal.

Speaker 2
That’s what it feels like, you know. It’s like –

Speaker 1
There’s always something going on, though, at April.

Speaker 2
You can have a free TV, you know. Come on down. All right, no. It’s going to be very low-key. We just want people to come, have some lunch, relax, learn a little bit, walk around a little bit, and just get to know us.

Speaker 1
So you have a busy rest of April, a busy May?

Speaker 2
Yeah. Mother’s Day, obviously. Grandparents Day.

Speaker 2
We’ve got a lot of stuff coming up. Oh, actually. Yeah.

Speaker 2
It’s great. I can’t predict these. Yeah, we’ve got our summer concerts coming up.

Speaker 2
Summer concerts on the lawn. Yes. On the lawn.

Speaker 2
Are you kidding me? Yeah, we bring in bands. And so it’s packed.

Speaker 2
It’s great. Everybody. It’s neat because the cottagers, they just come out and put their chairs out because it’s right there.

Speaker 2
And we have people from all over the neighborhood come out as well as from West Hartford, Newington. And it’s packed. It’s pretty cool.

Speaker 2
Yeah. June, July, and August. We do three.

Speaker 2
Who else? Who does this? Yeah.

Speaker 2
It’s nice. It’s really nice. And they’ve been doing it so it’s classic

Speaker 1
alright I’m just I’m sorry I didn’t even I didn’t know you guys did some of that

Speaker 2
yes yeah it’s a great place to work I’m so excited coming up on a year I wish I were like Roseanne who we had on 27 years but I get it like when you ask the question you know why did you stay there so long I know why I mean I literally when I got my benefits when they signed me up for them I literally skipped away I was just

Speaker 1
they just take care of their employees so well definitely you are lucky to be working at a place that you love to work and not only that but you know you’re contributing yeah and you feel that

Speaker 2
too and i think that’s important um with a job you have to feel like you’re a part of it you know like you’re like you said like you’re contributing like you’re making a difference uh that you’re not and and you know bill our director treats everyone like they’re uh important and a part and they are Every piece is what is the whole tapestry thing. Every piece, you take that one string away and it’s raveling. I know. I’m so wise. I’m like a sage.

Speaker 1
You are. You are like a sage. Well, a big part of your job, though, is also giving tours.

Speaker 2
Yes. How many tours do you actually give a week? Oh, my gosh.

Speaker 2
I was trying to actually figure that out. And I think I give probably on a busy week probably at least two or three a day. And sometimes that includes Saturday as well.

Speaker 2
So that could be at least, what is that, like 21? On a slower week, we’re probably talking about 10 or 12. But I do a lot of tours.

Speaker 2
And a lot of stuff is people are ready to go now for the future. Some of it is just people who are looking for the next couple of months. So it just depends.

Speaker 2
So it’s important to just, people just come in and they always worry, oh, I’m just looking. And I’m like, that’s all right because you want to start early. You want to look early.

Speaker 1
All right. So when you’re giving a tour, all right, how do I ask this? When you’re giving the tour, are there mistakes that people can actually make while they’re being guided?

Speaker 2
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that the reason why this to me is an important topic is no one teaches this. No one teaches this to you.

Speaker 2
And I don’t know how many people come in and they’re like, I don’t even know what I’m doing. I don’t even know what I’m doing. And of course you don’t, right?

Speaker 2
We learn from our friend who just had a baby, right? We learn how to take care of a baby. We learn from our friend who just bought a car.

Speaker 2
Hey, I just bought a car. You buy it in September. But no one talks about senior living.

Speaker 2
Who wants to really talk about that when you really think about it? Unless it’s like an exciting move because I want to for socialization. But a lot of times it can be for assisted living and it’s a difficult move.

Speaker 2
So some of the biggest things is not touring enough locations. And I hate to say that out loud, but it is true. You should tour.

Speaker 2
When people come in to me, sometimes I’m the first, sometimes I’m the last. But sometimes when I’m the first, they’re like, oh, they apologize. Oh, we’re going to go to two other locations.

Speaker 2
I’m like, great. You know, you have to. You have to look at more than one location.

Speaker 2
It’s like anything, the power of three. Right. When you’re going for a contractor, you’re not going to go with your first contractor.

Speaker 2
If you’re having an operation, you’re going to get a second opinion and a third and a third. It’s important. You know, but having said that, you don’t want to tour like 12, which is why three is like a good number.

Speaker 2
It’s the perfect number. I mean, if you’re not finding what you want in that three, of course, keep going. But when you’re getting into 10 and 15, now you’re just kind of like overloading your mind and it’s too much.

Speaker 2
So usually like three is usually a really good number. One of the biggest things is with that, making an impulsive decision. So when you’re in there taking the tour, you fall in love with the person giving the tour, which people often do with me.

Speaker 1
But not a good idea.

Speaker 2
It’s a good idea to kind of not make that emotional, impulsive decision. It’s a good idea to wait, come back with a friend, have lunch, talk to some residents. That’s always the way to go.

Speaker 2
And don’t go on financial alone. I can’t say this enough because, you know, if you’re getting, oh, we’ll give it to you for $1.50, you know, think about it. Think about when you’ve bought, you know, I always, you know, buy the top of the line kind of, I love hamburgers.

Speaker 2
So I always buy the Wahlburger. I do too. Love their hamburger meat.

Speaker 2
So do I. A little bit more, a little bit more. It’s probably like $8 for the regular pound. You’re probably paying $10.

Speaker 2
But think about it. It’s like it’s that little bit. Before burger.

Speaker 2
Yes, that little bit of difference. It’s delicious, you know, and it’s the same thing with the senior living community. If you’re getting it for $1.50, think in your mind why.

Speaker 2
And think about, always ask about the rate increase. What is the rate increase? You know, people don’t, they get afraid to ask that.

Speaker 2
But it’s important to ask that because if you’re coming in on this really, really low rate, yay. You know what, a year from now, you’re probably talking about a 14, 18, I’ve heard crazy, huge percentages that people have. And so you have to be cautious of that because you’re budgeting.

Speaker 2
And now you’ve got this 14% increase. you were thinking, you know, maybe two, maybe 4%. You weren’t thinking 14% and it’s a lot.

Speaker 1
There is a statement that I used to give to when I was in business. It’s expensive to be cheap.

Speaker 2
Yes, it is. It’s so true because I used to buy a good one is I used to buy my son’s jeans at a department store and always ripping the knees. He’s a boy.

Speaker 2
Ripping, ripping, ripping. Well, yeah, I was, oh, I’m spending $10. Great.

Speaker 2
So then I started going to another store, which was Old Navy, and it was better. It was just better. It was a little bit more.

Speaker 2
Actually, I found it at the outlet. It used to be in Vernon, which was phenomenal. But the jeans lasted longer.

Speaker 2
And so I was buying probably twice as many pairs of jeans, probably spending twice as much money where I could just buy him one pair until he grew.

Speaker 1
Old Navy.

Speaker 2
Love Old Navy.

Speaker 1
Got them on right now.

Speaker 2
Yeah. They really have good quality.

Speaker 1
You know what I also find out, and you can really apply this to anything in life. It’s not just how much something is, is what’s the value, you know, because you talk to somebody who’s got years of experience that they can draw upon. Not just, well, I graduated from this school.

Speaker 1
That’s great. But I like the hands on somebody who’s you can’t throw them a ball that, you know, a curveball that they haven’t seen before. Right.

Speaker 1
You know, and so they can draw upon that. There’s something to be said for paying a little bit more, but when you look at the big picture, you’re getting so much more out of it.

Speaker 2
For your car, clothes, all this stuff applies with that. I mean, you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars maybe for a watch, maybe as a gift or something like that, but you can find affordable and, like you said, good value, good quality. It’s important as you get older to look for that.

Speaker 2
Another one is the adult children or the caregiver making it all about themselves. What does that mean? That means either they’re making the tour about themselves.

Speaker 2
Oh, I got to go. Or we don’t need to see that. Or, you know, they’re rushing the person.

Speaker 2
And this is an older adult. Their mind is not. We were just talking about, you know, writing things down because our minds are getting older.

Speaker 2
It’s like they, you know, they want to take their time. And if they want to look down that hall, let them do it. This is their decision, too.

Speaker 2
Don’t make it all about you. And don’t disrespect if it’s your parent or whatever. Yeah, you may know that they have some kind of health issue.

Speaker 2
But don’t talk over them. Talk with them. You know, is it okay if I bring this up?

Speaker 2
Is it okay if I mention this? You know, don’t treat them like a child. You know, don’t hush them down.

Speaker 2
I think that a lot of times adult children like to, which is, and caregivers like to take control of the situation, which is nice because you’re caring for your older adult. But a lot of times you can hinder the process. And, you know, ultimately that person, oh, I don’t want to move.

Speaker 2
Well, of course you don’t want to move. Because who wants to move if, you know, they’re going to be kind of like feeling that ickiness inside and they don’t have that good feeling on the tour. And that definitely can breed that.

Speaker 1
Do you ever allow, and this might be so outside the box and innovative, but do you ever allow somebody a sample like, why don’t you come and spend a weekend here?

Speaker 2
Yeah, we don’t do that necessarily because there’s a lot of like legal stuff. We have to have, the person has to have an assessment and those types of things to stay kind of, unless we do a hospitality apartment, especially if they’re assisted. But we do a day in the life.

Speaker 2
We just did one actually for someone for memory care. We can do that for someone in assisted living so they can spend, you know, the day there, have breakfast, have lunch, you know, have dinner and then head out so we can observe them as well and see how they do in the environment, but also so they can be in the environment, too. That is important.

Speaker 2
Yeah. I always encourage and they should always ask, can I meet with some residents? There’s always a welcoming committee at a senior living community.

Speaker 2
Definitely meet with some residents. I give them a chance to talk to the resident. If they start talking to a resident, I walk away.

Speaker 2
I give them too far away, but I walk away so they can talk to them freely. So I’m not like on top of them and the residents looking at me like, I didn’t say it. I didn’t say it.

Speaker 1
I know you come from a background from hospice. Have you ever worked at another senior living facility? Yes. Okay. So without naming it, what does Avery Heights do better than that other facility?

Speaker 2
That’s a great, well, I think it’s a lot of, because we’re a nonprofit. So are we census driven? Sure.

Speaker 2
But it’s not like our main thing is our mission and our vision and our goals, which is to take care of old adults, find them proper housing, healthy, proper, vital housing. So it’s not always about the numbers. And I think what they do well is, I mean, Roseanne, who we had on, our resident service coordinator, the social worker, that is such a huge element.

Speaker 2
To have someone that can hold their hand, that can be an advocate, then walk them through the community. You know, a door that they can knock on and say, hey, can I have a minute? And that person has a minute to talk.

Speaker 2
I think that’s super important. I think the difference is our management, too. I think a lot of times people put, this might get me in trouble, people in management positions that just because of their years they’ve been with the company, just because they know how to deal with the widgets.

Speaker 2
Well, that’s not management. Management needs to have skills. And I think Bill is an exceptional – actually, matter of fact, all the management truly at Avery Heights is exceptional.

Speaker 2
I just – just the way – and it comes from our president, Patrick, who I think we had on last year on Veterans Day. I think it comes from him. I mean he does such a great job of just setting that tone and our board does a great job because we’re a nonprofit of setting that tone as well.

Speaker 2
And I think they don’t put people in management’s positions just because they need to fill it. Or, again, just because they know how to they put people in the position that are caring, respectful and have that full rounded, you know, ability to to work with people on a great, respectful way. And I just think that’s so important.

Speaker 2
I think a lot of times companies just don’t do that. And I think it’s damaging.

Speaker 1
Folks, you have been listening to your next chapter, Senior Living with Siobhan Mattingly, Senior Heights. senior living specialist, along with Siobhan, I’m Gary Byron. I didn’t want to interrupt you. I just wanted to get that in really quickly.

Speaker 2
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 1
Go ahead. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt you.

Speaker 2
No, no, that was it. That was it. That was just kind of my little soapbox.

Speaker 2
It’s a big thing for me. I just have seen so much people just get hurt and so much turnover at places too. And it’s really sad because, and it’s all because you got that.

Speaker 2
It is, it’s the management.

Speaker 1
How long does it take to go on a tour? Is this like a two-hour tour?

Speaker 2
It depends. I’ve had as little as a half hour. I’ve had as most like three hours, four hours.

Speaker 2
It really depends. I don’t really rush people, especially if I have the time. Sometimes if I’m back to back to back, I don’t have as much time, but then I have them come back, whether for lunch or for a meal or for an activity or something like that.

Speaker 2
But, yeah.

Speaker 1
Is there a favorite, like something that always gets a positive response whenever you’re on the tour with somebody?

Speaker 2
Oh, God, the pool. I love the pool. Yeah, people love the pool.

Speaker 2
They love the weight room. I mean, Mark is a big hit. He’s our personal trainer and he’s amazing.

Speaker 2
He’s been there for like almost 30 years. And he’s always like, you know, so many people in the gym. They’re, you know, they’re amazed that like these older people working out and, you know, some with walkers, some with, you know, oxygen tape.

Speaker 2
They’re just amazed at the kind of people that are working out and they’re just, you know, they’re enjoying themselves. So I think that always is a big hit. The library.

Speaker 2
Actually, just a ton of them. We have a patio now. Look at you.

Speaker 2
You’re proud of it all. The movie theater. Yeah.

Speaker 2
The terraces. People love the fact that every, the washer dryer, people love that. People love that every apartment has a washer dryer, the terrace, people love it.

Speaker 2
Yeah.

Speaker 1
What about offering any tips for people touring a senior living community? What advice would you give them?

Speaker 2
I always say schedule in advance. People like to do the walk-in tour. And I get why they like to do it.

Speaker 2
They think they’re going to catch us off guard. Like it’s Fantasy Island. Remember Fantasy Island?

Speaker 2
The plane, the plane, of course. They’re coming. Tattoo and Mr. Rourke.

Speaker 2
Get ready. Yes. And I get it.

Speaker 2
You want to catch us off guard. But at the same time, it limits. We’re not prepared for you.

Speaker 2
You know what I mean? And so it’s better to kind of schedule your tour. Do maybe the walk-in later, like the unscheduled tour later.

Speaker 2
Do the surprise. That’s fine. But I think for your first tour, you want to have it scheduled.

Speaker 2
Because I think it just helps everybody. I think that’s good. Prepare your questions.

Speaker 2
AARP has a wonderful list of questions. So have a list of questions. And don’t be ashamed to have.

Speaker 2
I had one guy who had like three, four pages of questions. It was awesome, though. It was great for me because I was kind of fairly new.

Speaker 2
So it was great. I was like, I don’t know the answer to that. I’m writing these things down.

Speaker 2
So he helped with my training. I almost thought someone sent him in. It’s like, Bill, did you send this guy in?

Speaker 2
But it was great.

Speaker 1
That’s funny.

Speaker 2
Yeah, so it was great. First, second, third impression matters. So don’t be afraid to take.

Speaker 2
I’ve done up to eight tours for one family. Don’t be afraid to take multiple tours. It’s important.

Speaker 2
Yeah, take multiple tours. Don’t just go first tour. Yeah, do a first, second.

Speaker 2
I’m going to get so much hate mail from my fellow marketing people. What are you doing? It’s like you’re giving away the secrets.

Speaker 2
You know, ask how a person handles the tough stuff. You know, what if my loved one falls? What do you do?

Speaker 2
You know, ask the tough questions. Bad things happen. It’s how we handle it.

Speaker 2
It’s how we – and, of course, bad things are going to happen. It’s how we handle it. Pay attention.

Speaker 2
Be a detective. You know, don’t get so caught up in the, you know, laughing with me. You know what I mean?

Speaker 2
You know, I’m silly. You know, pay attention. Look on the walls.

Speaker 2
Look everywhere. You know, pay attention to stuff and ask questions. Why is that there?

Speaker 2
What’s going on there? What’s going on here? Ask questions.

Speaker 2
You know, stay for a lunch or a meal. Always have a meal, you know, or come even for an activity. You want to just see a day in life.

Speaker 2
You want to see the environment. You want to be in it, you know, not just kind of on the outside of it. It’s a different feel.

Speaker 2
Talk to the residents. Always talk to the residents. You know, I set up phone calls.

Speaker 2
I’ll set up private visits. A lot of places do cool stuff like that as well, which is great. It asks about the amenities and the extras.

Speaker 2
Always ask about, you know, what else is there? You know, there’s always the hair salon and different things like that. But there’s always different other little things.

Speaker 2
Always ask.

Speaker 1
You think somebody can get more information on somebody like yourself or other employees or from some of the residents themselves?

Speaker 2
I think it’s a combination.

Speaker 1
Okay.

Speaker 2
Yeah. I always, like I said, I always give people time to talk to other people other than me. Like Tim is a big hit, the dining room.

Speaker 2
Because a lot of people always have questions about, oh, you know, I don’t like crust on my bread. Okay, let’s go talk to Tim. I’m sure he’ll cut it off for you.

Speaker 2
You know, it’s like, you know, so I think that’s more. That’s one of the more easier projects I would imagine. Yes.

Speaker 2
I think that’s important. Special diets. I think, you know, talking to Roseanne, I often will have a new resident who’s moving in set up a call with her ahead of time or a meeting ahead of time with her.

Speaker 2
so she can get a feel for what their needs might be so she can kind of be prepared. Meeting with Bill I think is important. So definitely meeting with the staff.

Speaker 2
I think meeting with a resident is so important, you know, especially, you know, like veterans meeting with veterans or, you know, like if someone, you know, unfortunately just lost their, you know, husband or wife. So, you know, widows meeting with widows kind of thing. Or someone has their husband or their wife has Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Speaker 2
So I try to set people up to come to the support group, you know, Even if they decide, you know, not to move forward and say, hey, come to the support group, you know, meet some of our residents and get involved. So I think the more people get involved and come to activities, come to events, by the time you move in, it’s like people are like, hey, what’s going on?

Speaker 1
Would you prefer to be, let’s just use the rule of threes here. Would you prefer to be someone’s first tour or their final tour?

Speaker 2
That’s such a good question. I like to be the final tour. okay yeah i totally don’t like to be the first tour i like to be the final because a lot i i love when people say oh my gosh we should have come here i’m always like a lot of times because you know avery heights is the best i always say the best hidden secret it’s a diamond that no one knows about and i love when people i’m making the calls you know you get a lot of referrals they go on multiple places and i said you know just come see us and i love when they do and they’re like oh my gosh and then they totally change their mind and end up moving in with us it’s like it’s worth it to always just go just come see us you know i mean it’s just one more tour i’m gonna feed you you know i always say i’ll treat you to lunch i mean it’s a meal you don’t have to worry about and you know it’s always good to hear that though i’ve had people from other we have a lot of people that have moved over from other communities just recently for whatever reason yeah and and they’re like oh we should have come here first we should have come here first you know and and so yeah i like to be the last tour or maybe in the middle but really the last tour is the best one because then I can find out everything

Speaker 1
that they experienced. You leave them on a high note. Exactly. The first tour is tough because it’s just like

Speaker 2
now they’re comparing you to everything else.

Speaker 1
Or they don’t know. If you’re the first tour they don’t even know what they don’t know.

Speaker 2
It’s like a first boyfriend or girlfriend, right?

Speaker 1
Yeah, you can go back and do those. Yeah, now with more experience under your belt and go back and correct things. Yeah,

Speaker 2
see? So it’s good to be the last one.

Speaker 1
Folks, you have been listening to the Latest edition of your next chapter, Senior Living with Siobhan Mattingly, the Heights Senior Living Specialist. Now, you can come see for yourself at one of the Heights 2023 Open House events. As Siobhan mentioned earlier, May 6th, you’re going to get a tour, lunch, and a presentation.

Speaker 1
And what? Ben Rayo’s mom’s house. She’s paying for long-term care.

Speaker 2
Yep, yep, yep.

Speaker 1
May 13th, a tour, lunch, a presentation, which is downsizing what you must know before you move. And that’s with Amstead Home Transition Solutions. They were on the show as well.

Speaker 1
Yes, they were. You did a great job, Andrew. Yeah.

Speaker 1
Folks, if you’d like more information or how to register, please visit AveryHeights.org or just call Siobhan. Siobhan, you’ll talk to anybody. You’re so down home and friendly.

Speaker 1
And calming. That’s right. The soothing tones.

Speaker 1
The dulcet tones. I’ve got to look out in the mornings. You can get out to my job here.

Speaker 1
860-953-1201. Again, it’s 860-953-1201. For Siobhan Mattingly, I’m Gary Byron.

Speaker 1
Thanks so much for listening. Until next weekend, have a good one, everybody. So long.