The Thirwood Difference: Live Well with a Little Extra Help

If you’re familiar with Thirwood Place then you’re probably aware that we offer multiple living options. We have town-home style units in The Village, and Independent and Assisted Living apartments in our main building. In many cases, we have residents that transition from The Village to Independent Living. That way they don’t have to leave the building to attend dinner, activities, and other events. We also see residents move from Independent Living to Assisted Living when they realize they might need more care or help with things like housekeeping and medication management.

The decision to move into Assisted Living can take a lot of thought. At Thirwood Place, the apartments in Assisted Living are identical to the apartments in Independent Living. The concern for the move usually comes with the anxiety that the resident may not see their friends from the Independent side of the building as frequently. Or maybe certain activities will be more difficult to attend now.

We sat down with one of our residents who recently moved from Independent Living to Assisted Living. When Nancy Hart approached Rita Kyriakides, a member of our sales team, about moving into Assisted Living she had already “made up her own mind.”

She expressed that she made the decision on her own and knew she needed more assistance. Recently, Nancy felt the need to be closer to the nurse’s station in the event of an emergency.

Nancy Explores Assisted Living with Rita

Nancy moved into Thirwood Place in February of 2023 after working with Rita to find an apartment in Independent Living. Once she made the decision to move to The Cove she approached Rita again.

She remembers going to Assisted Living with Rita to check out a few units and see which would be the right fit.

“She knows so much about this place.” Nancy remarked. “She doesn’t hide anything.”

When Nancy was trying to make up her mind about which apartment to live in she said that Rita was “standing there like she had nothing else in the world to do but I knew darn well she was very busy.”

Nancy really emphasized how much she appreciated Rita’s time and attention when it came to making her transition. “She never gave that idea to me that she was (too busy.) Which is really good when you’re looking at a new place to live.”

After the Move

When we asked Nancy how’s she’s settling in at The Cove we were very happy to hear her response. Since moving, she feels more taken care of which was why she made the decision in the first place. Aids come to check on her every ten minutes and she has absolutely no problem with it because she knows they’re there to help.

Additionally, the food in Assisted Living is just as good as the Independent Living dining room. According to Nancy the fish is “extraordinarily good, absolutely unbelievable.”

She’s also found a nice group of new people to sit with in the dining room. Nancy enjoys chatting during dinner. Initially, she was seated with a few residents who prefer to focus on their meal than chat. Which Nancy had no problem with. Everyone is different. So, she approached our Food and Beverage Manager, Monique Andrade, about sitting with a more social group. She now has dinner with some chatters and expressed she’s learning new things about sports through them.

Along with dining, we also asked Nancy about the activities in Assisted Living. First, she mentioned how much she appreciates the work put in by our Assisted Living Activities Coordinator Maureen Boyce.

Nancy said that “Maureen is a star” and she’s learning how to play Rummikub with her new Assisted Living buddies. She feels the residents are friendly and it’s nice to have new people to interact with.

New Friends and Old Friends

A lot of residents feel that if they move to Assisted Living they won’t see their old friends in Independent Living anymore. Nancy is a case study on why that shouldn’t be a concern.

Nancy still attends Balance Class with Chris on the Independent Living side. She’s taken that class for two years now and didn’t want to miss out and she definitely hasn’t! Nancy also has dinner with her Independent Living friends on a weekly basis. She enjoys walking, so getting over to Independent Living is no problem for her.

Although she sometimes misses her friends from her Independent Living hallway she’s still invited over all the time.

According to Nancy “Thirwood is a stellar place.”

She met someone at a doctor’s office as she was waiting for a Thirwood driver to pick her up. The lady asked her “What do you think about Thirwood Place?”

Nancy responded by saying “You can go around looking at all the residential places if you want to but you will not find one as nice as Thirwood Place.”

New Beginnings

It is truly never too late to start a new hobby and our residents prove that on a regular basis. Nancy recently started attending an activity in Independent Living that occurs one Sunday each month. It’s called Meet Your neighbor and is organized by another resident, Pat Loan. Meet Your Neighbor is an opportunity for residents to share stories about their life experiences. This kind of activity helps our residents get to know each other better and also is a great way to find common interests and experiences.

After attending twice, Nancy was inspired to tell her own story about her mother. So she did and it was extremely well-received. Pat Loan and other residents were so supportive and inspired Nancy to write her story on paper. Now she’s in the process of publishing 30 copies to give to her family and friends. From Independent Living to Assisted Living to published author. Nancy is a joy to have at Thirwood Place and we are is grateful she was willing to share her experience with us.