Speaker 1
Good Saturday morning to everybody and welcome to your next chapter, a production of Avery Heights Senior Living Community. Avery Heights is a 43-acre senior living community with a full continuum of care, including independent and assisted living memory care and a whole lot more. Now, this show will provide helpful tips and resources for older adults that will empower and encourage you in your life’s journey.

From topics related to physical and emotional health, financial health, senior living communities, and a whole lot more. Siobhan, good to see you. Hey.

My microphone over here. It’s great to see you. How you been?

I’m very good.

Speaker 2
I’m very good. How was your week? It was phenomenal. We just did our veterans event.

Speaker 1
Yes. Which was amazing. I had a great time.

See, the food was awesome. Food was outstanding. Yes.

You know, this is not like, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t even say it like this. This is not like food that you would think of at a senior living community. I don’t know.

This was like five-star food. Yep. Swordfish.

Speaker 2
Like a lamb. Don’t mess around here. It was good stuff. As promised, right?

Speaker 1
You did. And you really, you made us feel welcome. You rolled out the red carpet, broadcasted live the entire morning show this past Thursday.

Speaker 2
Yep.

Speaker 1
And you had a nice ceremony for the veterans.

Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Congratulations. Celebrating my six months at Avery Heights as well. I’m the baby there.

I’m the baby.

Speaker 1
Six months.

Speaker 2
I’m the baby. Yes.

Speaker 1
You know, it’s fascinating then. Six months and you’re a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Avery Heights.

Speaker 2
I stalked them for a while. Yeah.

Speaker 1
You’d have to for all the knowledge that you have with it. You brought in a guest today. You want to introduce him?

Speaker 2
I did. One of my favorite people, Mr. Bill Ingerhardt. He is the director of the Heights Senior Living Community, and he’s amazing.

He’s been there a long time. Way longer than me. 30 years and six months.

Speaker 3
Wow. Way longer than you. But the last six months have been the best. How about that?

Speaker 1
Oh, my goodness. You can’t get a higher compliment than that after 30 years. The last six months. It’s a dynamic duo, then.

Speaker 2
Yes, we do have fun.

Speaker 1
So you are the director of the Heights Senior Living Community. What does that mean?

Speaker 3
So, well, thanks. And, Gary, thanks for coming to our Veterans event. It was an honor.

I really appreciate it. We really enjoyed it. As the director of the Heights, I’m responsible for folks who move to the Avery Heights campus who are looking for independent living or assisted living.

And that comes in a lot of different shapes and sizes. You can live in a cottage independently, really with no support but being on our campus. Or you can live in the Heights building, which is an apartment complex, where you can access food and transportation and 24-hour security and lots of recreational programming.

Or you can add into that assisted living services, including help with medications, help with personal care. You can even have live-in help if you’d like it. So an entire range of supports.

Speaker 1
Bill, how would I know which is better for me? Let’s say I don’t need assisted living with memory care or anything. I’m a pretty independent person. How do I know if the cottage is right for me or if one of the apartments is right for me?

Speaker 3
Sure, well, that’s the perfect question. You know, if you think it’s time or if a family member thinks it’s time to start thinking about a community and you come to talk to us because our campus offers really the full continuum of support, Siobhan’s job primarily, my job certainly, is to listen and understand what challenges the individual is facing, what concerns the family member has. Once we know more about you, we know a little bit about what we offer, and we can try to tailor the package to what your needs are.

We have lots of folks who move in to a cottage level requiring very little support. And then as their needs change, they move into the Heights building. They access additional support.

Maybe they don’t want to cook for themselves anymore, so they come to the dining room. They come to the apartment to access the dining room. Maybe they’ve given up their cars so they can use our transportation services.

But we can sort of, in discussions and as we get to know folks, try to tailor packages to what your needs are.

Speaker 1
Okay, so just because you start off in one form of living, let’s use the cottage as an example. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to stay there for the rest of your duration at Avery.

Speaker 3
That’s the important thing to know about Avery Heights for sure. There’s an entire continuum of care. I think you’ve recently talked to the director of our health care center.

Speaker 1
Oh, yeah, last week, yeah.

Speaker 3
So what we can do is follow your progression of needs all the way through from independent living through assisted living to if the time comes that you really need a skilled nursing level of support, we can be there for you at that level too.

Speaker 1
I imagine that you sit across, both of you, from all walks of life. And I know you customize around their individual needs. But there’s got to be a commonality that you hear from people time and time again.

What is it that they’re looking for? What is that commonality that just, and there’s no room for compromise. They’ve got to have, this is so important to them.

Yeah, they’re flexible on some other things, but not on this. What would that be?

Speaker 3
I think the answer to that varies a little bit depending on who’s come to us. In other words, family members may have one set of ideas. The individuals may have a completely different set of ideas.

And so you have to understand that dynamic, first of all. You have to understand whether everyone is being realistic in terms of what the potential residents’ capabilities are to live safely and to support themselves. I don’t know that that really answers your question, but…

Speaker 1
You’ve been here six months. You just celebrated. Yes. 30 years.

Speaker 3
Yep.

Speaker 1
How long has Avery Heights been around?

Speaker 3
Founded in 1957, a bunch of several, a group, I should say, of visionaries from local churches got together and thought they should create an area, a community where senior citizens could live in an environment that was conducive to supporting socialization and their own personal safety. That grew from 1957. That grew from a small independent living building to a skilled nursing facility, an intermediate level care nursing facility, cottages, finally the heights, which is

Speaker 2
what we’re talking about today. I think it’s important to mention that I think at that time as well is that the times were changing. You know, back in the day, you were age out, you go to your kid’s house or they come to your house and stay with you. And I think the times were changing where no longer was that happening. And so I think that this group of people saw that and said, okay, we need to do something different.

We need to have options and availabilities for older adults so they can have a safe place to go.

Speaker 1
You know what struck me when I was at Avery Heights last Thursday? When I was a kid growing up, you know, you either, you went away to the old folks’ home. This was anything but.

It was vibrant. It was lively. It was a campus.

It’s not an old folks’ home. this seemed like a happening place to be and everybody seemed very happy and i don’t mean just the staff members i mean the residents on campus people who reside there at these cottages and inside um the apartment buildings how do you maintain that how do you or maybe a better how do

Speaker 3
you sustain that well i i think what the message that both Siobhan and i try to impart on anyone who’s coming and thinking about living with us is the idea that on the one hand, you’re giving up your home. On the other hand, you’re opening up an entire world of possibilities. That your next chapter starts here is a saying we use on purpose because if you can convey to the resident that moving into an apartment means, yes, You can stay home and read a book all day if you want.

But all you have to do is open your door to come out and meet 130 other people. At least one or two of them you’re probably going to like, right? I think more than that, too.

Sure. So, you know, senior living is not about giving up things from our perspective. It’s about opening up worlds that were maybe kind of lost to you at a point.

That’s a great answer. You know, so we think it’s important to come and look and see and feel, you know, what it’s like and then come with an attitude of, hey, maybe there is something here for me. Maybe there is something that I’m going to like about being here.

Speaker 2
Bill. Go ahead. I’m sorry about that.

I think also, too, it’s important to mention, and Bill didn’t give himself enough credit in the other bill as well, is that in our board and our president, Patrick, it comes from them. There’s a certain amount of caring and respect, and that’s another way that it gets sustained as well because the staff kind of takes that on. You know, management is so important.

And when the person at the helm at the top is able to be that caring person and offer that quality of life and care, you’re around that and you’re like a sponge and you’re like, okay, I need to care as well because the upper staff, if you ever go to a restaurant and someone’s rude to you and then you ask for the manager and then they’re rude as well and you’re like okay now you know why yeah you know why it’s that concept of like it comes from the top and all the way up to the president i was at the golf tournament a few weeks ago and you know he came to check on me there’s this like i don’t even like 200 person or 500 person golf tournament and all of a sudden he’s standing behind me going how’s it going this is your first tournament how are you doing and i’m like i’m great but there’s 300 people out there that you need to check on but i was so that, you know, I don’t even know where he came from. He just popped up behind me, you know, and he checked on me a few times throughout the day. That says something.

That’s the president of the company. And here’s all this big fundraising tournament going on, and he’s worried about little Siobhan.

Speaker 1
But you know what? It reminds me, last week I was talking about the morale, you know, and you said it starts at the top. Misery breeds misery.

Yes, of course. Yep. And the same can be said when people are happy.

And appreciated. Do you ever work at a place, wherever? You don’t have to mention where it is.

Do you ever feel like you weren’t appreciated? It has nothing to do with money. The salary is a whole other thing.

Because there are people who make great money and hate where they work. But to know that you’re valued and you’re appreciated. And they look to you based on your experience.

Speaker 3
If I could just add something that Siobhan just said. There’s another group that demonstrates their appreciation to us every day. And it’s a lesson I learned. I’ve been there for 30 years.

Speaker 2
I know. So I’ve had a few different jobs.

Speaker 3
But back in 2003, when I took over as the director of the Heights, I came back into a building that I had started in in 91. And some of the old residents were still there. And I’m thinking of one woman in particular who I had met in 1991 who had come to the Heights with her husband.

And she had taken on the role of caregiver at a pretty early age, 68, 69 years old. So now 12 years later, I’m back in the building and she’s still there. She’s now widowed.

But she’s jumped into a role of leadership with the resident council and taking over lots of different functions with resident activities. And early on in my tenure, I got into a little bit of a scrap with some residents over a particular policy. And she basically grabbed me by the sleeve and took me aside figuratively, not literally.

But she explained to me that, you know, the role that I have is to try to manage a lot of different competing interests and reasons and interests of people who are living together, coming together as a community. And she said to me, you know, the reason they had formed the resident group was to help us manage the direction of the leadership. So I think of that every day.

That particular woman sadly passed away last year. She lived with us for 29 plus years. She was an extraordinary woman.

And I think of her every day because it really is what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to get the community together, help them build camaraderie and fellowship, and then try to honor everybody’s wishes while optimizing their level of independence.

Speaker 1
I think you’re accomplishing that, though.

Speaker 3
I think so. I hope so.

Speaker 1
And I was listening to you a little while ago, Bill, about the evolution of the organics and how you’ve grown. What would the next logical step be? Where do you go from here?

Speaker 3
Well, we just took the most recent next logical step we took was when we created the Burnham Family Memory Care Residence, which is an assisted living level of memory care support. What you see over time in communities is that as people age, their needs change. And it becomes harder for some individuals to stay engaged and stay active without additional cueing and additional support.

So we created, as you saw last week, a beautiful, secured environment where 20 residents come together in their own set, in their own environment, and enjoy each other’s company and have dedicated programming that goes to their own cognitive stimulation. So what’s after that? I’m not sure.

Speaker 2
The patio.

Speaker 3
What’s that?

Speaker 2
The patio.

Speaker 3
Well, certainly.

Speaker 1
Okay.

Speaker 2
In my opinion.

Speaker 3
Certainly enhancing some of the amenities of the community is always a next step. Always a next step.

Speaker 1
What then do you think is the secret to your success? The secret of your success regarding your campus, which is really in being around for such a long time.

Speaker 3
Well, the campus makes a beautiful impression because, by and large, people don’t know that we’re there. We are hidden up on a hill at the top of Cedar Mountain in Hartford. People are genuinely shocked to drive up our driveway and find a very beautiful pastoral setting, secluded, quiet country setting.

So that makes a great first impression. Then when they come in the door and they see the extent to which Sibi in particular, but others welcome them, and they see an active, vibrant community like you saw last week, you know, it’s pretty inviting. It’s a pretty inviting environment, I think.

And I happen, as you can tell, I happen to like the food myself.

Speaker 1
Everybody raves about the food. There’s not a question when it comes to the food at Avery Heights.

Speaker 2
No.

Speaker 1
Did you want to piggyback on that?

Speaker 2
I just got lost in the food. I’m sorry.

Speaker 1
That’s all right. And I could see how that could happen. 30 years.

You could have easily gone to a competitor. You could have found your way working in another, you know, in a similar capacity at another location. Why?

Why did you choose to stay at Avery Heights?

Speaker 3
You know, Gary, virtually my entire adult life has unfolded at Avery Heights. I didn’t know it was going to work that way. I met my wife there. Oh, wow. Actually, I hired my wife.

Speaker 2
Not me. No, no, I know that. You just got started six months ago.

Speaker 3
And my wife, Jamie, and I have raised two children, now adults, both of them. Along the way, we’ve had some health challenges, And Avery Heights has always supported me, always supported me, given me the time I need to take care of things at home. You know, it lives its mission as a not-for-profit company to really take care of each other. And I can’t picture myself anywhere else, and I hope I won’t have to in the next few years.

Speaker 1
Was it always not-for-profit?

Speaker 3
Yes.

Speaker 1
Day one. Yeah. Do you know the impetus of that?

Speaker 3
Well, we were founded by, as I said, some founding churches local in Hartford, and every time I try to name all five of them, I forget one, so I’m not going to do that.

Speaker 2
Don’t do it then.

Speaker 3
Don’t want to leave anybody out. Along the way, you know, we no longer have official ties with any of those churches, but a good number of our residents come from those founding churches even to this day. It was always a not-for-profit mission just to serve the needs of the elderly. And I think we’ve done well to persevere in that regard.

Speaker 1
Folks, you are listening to your next chapter, a production of Avery Heights Senior Living Community. Along with Siobhan Mattingly, I’m Gary Byron. Our guest this morning, Bill Englehart, director of the Heights Senior Living Community.

You know, you’ve gone over a myriad of ways in which makes Avery Heights, or even specifically the Heights, stand out. But what’s the secret sauce here? What’s what really, I know you’re a non-profit.

Food’s outstanding. But what is that element that, man, you just, I don’t care. Go look at everybody else.

You’re not going to find this.

Speaker 3
Well, I think I’m going to say there are three different items. On the surface of things, as people first come to us, one of the things they’re noticing is that we’re a rental community. We don’t require a large buy-in fee up front.

That’s attractive to many people, not everyone, but it’s certainly a point of decision for a number of customers who are looking for this sort of living environment. The continuum of care that we have right on our campus is hugely important. When couples come, you know, most couples don’t age at the exact same pace.

They see the need that at some point a spouse may need a different level of care. They see that driving and travel in the winter is not always conducive to visiting each other. At every height you don’t have to.

Your loved one is down the hall, literally. You don’t have to go outside to visit when the time comes for people to separate and access different levels of care. I think the third thing, and I hope it doesn’t sound like a cliche, because in six months I’ve gotten to know and watch Sibi in action, and I think she really models what we try to convey to all our staff, which is listen.

You have to listen to people. You have to hear what it is they’ve come to you for and then kind of help them sort out their own thinking, because in senior living we speak a little bit of a different language to each other, and it’s confusing. So people can say, oh, I want assisted living, but is that really what they want?

We need to hear and listen to what the challenges are so we can get them where they need to go. And I hope people trust in us. I think most people have learned to trust in us over the years.

Those are, I think, the three things.

Speaker 1
Well, usually with any secret sauce, there’s more than one ingredient.

Speaker 3
That’s right. Back to the food thing, aren’t we?

Speaker 1
I just associate this. Is it lunchtime? My stomach is growling, so I hope it’s. I really appreciated the story that you shared.

The woman who’s 29 years that she spent, and she just recently passed away. She started there very young. There’s got to be other stories that you can share, though.

Speaker 3
I was just in the golf tournament that Siobhan mentioned with two of my residents, one of whom is 93. Oh, that was. And the other of whom is in his mid-80s, I think. We didn’t. We had a lot of fun. We didn’t win the tournament, but we had a lot of fun.

Speaker 1
Look, as long as you had fun. I mean, winning is you can’t win them all. Right.

Speaker 3
You know, there’s some Gary over the years. I mean, I’m pretty blessed. I’ve met some incredible people. No single one comes to mind as I’m sitting here with you right now. But, you know, we have a woman who’s one hundred and two years old who lives completely independently in an apartment.

Speaker 2
she is extraordinary

Speaker 3
she is Ruth if you’re listening we think the world of you you know we’ve had folks who have had a spouse move to the healthcare center which involves a walk down a hallway or two we have spouses that make that walk four times a day every single day they go to visit for breakfast for lunch for dinner they’re completely dedicated to the support that they can no longer individually provide but they know that the staff is providing so i mean it’s just it’s an amazing thing to see people

Speaker 1
who have been married for 70 years you have a married couple that live there 70 years doesn’t have to be 70 years but let’s say one spouse needs memory care assistance the other one doesn’t Do they move together or are they separated?

Speaker 3
Well, for memory care, they wouldn’t move together. The well spouse would remain in the apartment while the spouse who really needs the support of a dedicated memory care environment would move to that Burnham family residence that I mentioned. But there’s a lot that may happen in between those two points.

There’s an ability to build in assisted living services to support folks whose dementia or Alzheimer’s is beginning to impact their lives or the lives of the couple. There’s a way to build in support short of moving the individual to the Burnham environment, but rather giving them the extra care, personal care they might need that an aide could provide, providing the med management and the medication oversight that a nurse would be able to keep track of, and then keeping those folks or that individual in a structured environment, in a routine in which they are comfortable and they can manage to get through an individual day. So not everyone who has a kind of dementia is automatically a candidate for the Burnham family residence.

There are folks who, when that time comes, move into that environment, and they’re immediately engaged in a whole new and different set of programs and cognitive activities that we’ve seen folks flourish with. Yeah, big time. That’s the way in which Avery Heights has an expanse of a range of services that I think will keep people true to our mission to support their optimal independence.

is we’ll keep them as couples together as long as possible and as safe as possible. That’s a priority.

Speaker 1
Any last-minute tips for anybody looking for senior living?

Speaker 3
Come see Siobhan.

Speaker 1
Of course. That tip doesn’t get any better than that. Anything you’d like to contribute, Siobhan?

Speaker 2
Yeah. I think when you’re looking, just make sure you look more than one place and just come to Avery Heights. Just see what we’re all about.

I had a tour yesterday, a woman that’s actually been to all of our, you know, the various continuing care campuses in the area. And it was funny as she was leaving, she goes, I think Avery Heights is at the top of that list. And it was pretty nice to hear.

And I’m not like this overly salesy person. I just showed her around, you know, and she kept on making her own reasoning and thoughts and so forth. And she met some people and we had some laughs and she was taking all sorts of notes.

But it was neat to hear that, you know. And she might have said that every campus that she walked away on. But you never know.

You never know. It’s just nice for her to say that.

Speaker 1
It’s nice to hear.

Speaker 2
Yeah.

Speaker 3
And if I could add one more thing, just to keep in mind that physical activity is going to be an important part of your life. And we have a full gym. We have the services of an exercise physiologist five days a week. We have a swimming pool. There’s lots to do there to keep well.

Speaker 1
It’s not just delicious food. It’s amenities.

Speaker 3
You got it.

Speaker 1
Folks, you have been listening to the latest edition of your next chapter, Senior Living with Avery Heights. For more information on today’s topic, the Heights history, please call 866-537-1444. Let me repeat that.

Write it down. Ready? 866-537-1444.

In fact, the first three callers are going to get a special lunch and tour of Avery Heights. Look at that. Yeah.

And by the way, I strongly recommend both. Bring a doggy bag. Food’s delicious.

For Siobhan Mattingly, I want to thank our guest as well, Bill Englehart. He’s a director of the Heights Senior Living Community. I’m Gary Byron.

Until next weekend, have a good one, everybody. So long.