Assisted Living Your Way at The Cove at Thirwood Place: Featuring Ann Labbe

The Thirwood Difference

There’s a lot to think about when you make the decision to move into Assisted Living. Understanding the importance of maintaining freedom at later stages in life is crucial to developing a happy senior living community. When it comes to Assisted Living our moto is “the freedom you want with the care you need.” That is the phrase we live by. We want our residents to have the access they need for assistance, but we also ensure that they have the privacy they desire and the amount of autonomy they want.

Amenities and Activities

Thirwood Place is known for its unmatched amenities. From our heated pool to our greenhouse to our in-house hair and nail salon, Thirwood Place understands the significance of personal needs. Moving into an Assisted Living community doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice things that bring you joy. You CAN still get your hair done weekly or play a game of pool with friends. We cater our activity schedule to our residents. Enjoyment and ability are both considered when our activities coordinators create the schedules. At Thirwood Place, we’ve noticed that bonding over an activity or hobby is a wonderful way for residents to make new friends and fosters a sense of community here.

The Power to Choose Makes the Thirwood Difference

In addition to providing our Assisted Living residents with the ability to choose the activities they’d like to attend, we also give them other options as well. One way we do this is through dining. Our wonderful cozy Assisted Living dining room allows for a nice social evening meal and an opportunity to meet other or new residents. Now, socializing is extremely important but there might be a day you’re not able to make it to the dining room in person. Maybe you would rather eat in your apartment. Well, we do offer that as an option. At Thirwood Place you can get your evening meal delivered to your apartment. We consider this a unique benefit we provide because in many instances, other senior living villages, or skilled nursing facilities for that matter have a very rigid schedule when it comes to when and where people eat and what they are eating. We don’t have those kinds of limitations here because our goal is to give our Assisted Living residents as much variety as possible.

All Units Have Full Kitchens

 

The layouts of our apartments also provide additional dining options for our Assisted Living residents. No matter what level of care you’re receiving or what part of the building you’re in, your apartment will come equipped with a full kitchen. Not everyone loves to cook but for some it’s therapeutic and a way to keep traditions alive. Whether it’s baking holiday cookies or Irish soda bread for St. Patrick’s Day, our apartment layouts allow our residents to cook as much or as little as they would like. If you never want to cook again for the rest of your life, we have that option. BUT, if cooking something yourself once a week brings you joy, you have the option to do that as well.

The Power of Fresh Air

Our apartment layouts also allow for easy access to a patio or balcony for access to outside and fresh air. Many communities have perfectly lovely units but every single apartment at Thirwood Place, whether it’s a one-bedroom apartment or two-bedroom cottage, has outside access to a private deck or patio. You may not want to go outside every day, but sunlight helps with mood and has a ton of health benefits. According to experts, seniors should aim for 10 – 15 minutes of sunlight 3 times a week. This is the amount that is needed to produce healthy levels of vitamin D. Health benefits of sunlight for seniors include, supporting bone health, helping cognition, lowering blood pressure, disease prevention, and promoting good mental health. Not only do we want to give our residents options, but we’ve also created a community where the design considers the physical and mental health of everyone living here.

In-Unit Laundry

Finally, another unique element to Assisted Living at The Cove at Thirwood Place is our in-unit washers and dryers. Laundry is done at all Assisted Living communities. At Thirwood Place though having out units include laundry removes the concern of lost clothing for our residents. Many places take their residents laundry out of the unit to wash and then return once clean. Although this is a fine way to do laundry it can lead to missing items. We remove that issue completely by providing laundry service in-unit to our residents. It might seem like a small aspect of life but it’s the closest format to doing your own laundry at home. At least if something goes missing, you know it’s somewhere in your own apartment.

Resident Highlight: Ann Labbe

While we’re already talking about Assisted Living at The Cove at Thirwood Place, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to highlight one of our amazing residents. Ann Labbe has been with us at Thirwood Place for nine years. We feel so lucky to have watched her journey.

Ann Arrives at Thirwood Place

If you ask Ann herself, she’ll tell you that she came to Thirwood “…in a wheelchair and a with a walker and now they’re down in the storage room and they’re going to stay there.”

Ann, rightfully so, has a lot of pride regarding her mobility. Considering the fact that she couldn’t move the left side of her body when she arrived, we feel proud of her also. Before coming to Thirwood Place, Ann had a long list of on-going issues. With the support of her family and her daughter Kim, who happens to be a nurse they did everything they possibly could to try and figure out what led to such a dramatic decline in Ann’s health.

According to Kim all the tests, new medications, and juggling doctors and medical facilities, she felt like “Dr. House going through her cabinets looking for clues to her mystery illness.”  Ann’s children were clearly committed to doing everything they possibly could to get their mother back to a comfortable and functional state.

Kim goes on to say that before the onset of her illness, Ann was “…on 2 bowling leagues, enjoyed going out to lunch with friends, and was always the life of the party.” She had also taken care of her husband for 8 years before his passing from cancer. Ann is a vibrant force. It’s evident that the decline in her health made her seem like a different person to her loved ones.

Fast forward almost a year and it’s finally discovered that Ann is dealing with Autoimmune Encephalitis (Hashimoto’s). After multiple rehab facilities she ended up with us here at Thirwood Place and we are so lucky to have her vibrant energy walking through the halls. Ann is friendly, kind, outgoing and just a happy person overall. It’s hard not to smile when you get to spend time with Ann Labbe.

Bowling Leagues, Fashion, and Elephants for Good Luck

As mentioned earlier, before her diagnosis, Ann was on two different bowling leagues. We are happy to report that she is back in action, bowling every Friday. According to Ann, “I come and go as I please… I can go anywhere.”

She was even out and about earlier that day. She said “my friend picked me up because I had to play a few numbers… I’m a good gambler” Ann is truly the prime example of the freedom you want with the care you need. Yes, she receives her appropriate level of care and gets medication management everyday, but she still has the ability to call up her friends to go out on the town and have some fun.

She appreciates the kindness of the staff at Thirwood Place and thinks “The food is delicious, very very good.” She also mentioned that she loves the activities. They get her out of her apartment and get involved in an engaging game with other residents.

Upon entering Ann’s apartment two things become very clear. 1. She is a true fashionista with an incredible sense of style. If you see Ann walking through the halls of Thirwood she probably has a cute hat, paired with some statement earrings and rings on most of her fingers. She is the epitome of style and it’s clearly a way she continues to express herself. 2. She LOVES elephants. When interviewing Ann, I let her know that the first thing I noticed was her beautiful silver elephant earrings. Then, when she invited me into her apartment, I noticed she has the most beautiful elephant lamps, glass elephant table, and elephant figurines. When asked why the elephants? Ann responded, “I’m big into elephants, elephants are supposed to bring you luck.”

Ann’s History

Taking into account her health journey, Ann definitely considers herself a lucky person. “I’m lucky I got through everything I got through it wasn’t easy. It took them between 4 and 5 months to figure out what I had. I went rehab back to the hospital and it was my daughter working very hard on the situation.” Ann’s sense of gratitude for her family is so evident in the way she speaks.

Ann is also very proudly independent. Although she has a daughter close by on the Cape she feels strongly about keeping her own independence and the independence of her adult children. “Sometimes people say why don’t you go live with your daughter? Well, if they have their life and I have my life why would I?”

Ann seems to have the best of both worlds living at Thirwood Place. She sees her children regularly and everyone is able to keep their independence.

Why Cape Cod Ann?

When asked ‘why Cape Cod?’ Ann definitely had a lot to say. First, she shared that at one point in her life she never dreamed of being able to own a home on Cape Cod. Hard work paid off though. Eventually she and her husband were able to buy a place in Hyannis on Ridgewood Ave.  She continues to share how proud she feels of her children for all becoming homeowners across the Northeast coast. She says “still they always talk about their dad… remember how dad did this? He was a good guy, but he died too soon.”

Ann was even able to honor her late husband at a church remembrance ceremony at St. Pius X in Yarmouth. Her family and friends were able to attend, and they all went out to lunch afterwards to celebrate his life.

We feel so lucky to be able to provide Ann with the care she needs to live the healthiest life while still enjoying her independence. We can all learn a lesson on happiness from Ann. She was living with partial mobility. Now she’s out and about going bowling and seeing her friends as she usually would.