By Anu Varma Panchal
Gwen Boumeester and Aarene Alessi say that when they lead visitors on a tour around their under-construction building, the visitors are as excited as new homeowners. They point out the trayed ceilings and crown molding, spacious hallways, expansive views over the nature preserve outside and talk about how they can’t wait for a turn at the putting green at the center of one of the courtyards.
“We’re a long way from the standard pink-and-teal (retirement) community,” Alessi says.
The building — called the Legacy at Highwoods Preserve, located off Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. near New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows — has the capacity to house up to 88 seniors when it opens its doors this July. As the executive director and community relations director, respectively, Boumeester and Alessi (along with West Meadows resident and “director of first impressions” Lillian Gonzales) already are a permanent presence at the facility, which is the newest venture of Atlanta, GA-based Thrive Senior Living.
“This is truly a next generation assisted living (facility),” Alessi says of the resort-style, technology-rich Legacy. “It’s assisted living like you’ve never seen before.”
With most potential residents hailing from a 10- to 15-mile radius, Alessi feels that the Legacy is in the right place at the right time for the active senior with a family living locally.
“People want their loved ones close to home,” Alessi says. “This has been so well received because there has not been assisted living in (the New Tampa) area (before).”
The Legacy is now taking reservations for its 82 private, self-furnished suites. Five floor plans range from 330-sq.-ft. studios to 525-sq.-ft. deluxe suites. Along with 60 slots for assisted living residents, there is space for 22 more residents in the secured memory care wing of the building.
As part of their all-inclusive package, residents are served three meals a day at the Palm Pavilion (think fine linens and menus), but they also can grab a snack from the Key Lime Bistro any time of the day or night, meet for a drink at Hurricane Sports Bar, or book the Coconut Grove private dining room for a meal with visiting family. There’s also a full-service salon, game room, theatre, library, a putting green and a fitness center. Legacy residents will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by certified nursing assistants (CNAs) with oversight from licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and Boumeester says talks are under way for Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC — located off Bruce B. Downs [BBD] Blvd., just north of S.R. 56) to provide physical and occupational therapy at the Legacy five days a week.
Both the salon and the fitness center also will be open to the community at large. “We invite the community to come in,” says Boumeester, who is planning intergenerational volunteer programs and continuing education for her residents. “We have a wonderful tagline: connected living, active living and purposeful living. We are pioneering technology in assisted living. We’re very excited about what Thrive is bringing to the industry.”
Technological innovation is at the forefront of the Legacy’s offerings. The fitness center boasts state-of-the-art HUR fitness equipment, which seniors can activate with a touch of their radio-frequency ID wristbands. The wristbands also will alert the fitness machines to the user’s preferences and goals. With no weights or chains to struggle with, this equipment minimizes falls and injuries. The band, which they also can wear as a pendant, also functions as a room key, Boumeester says.
Health providers also will use hand-held mobile devices, known as Point of Care Solutions, to electronically record all interactions with residents and even send electronic prescriptions to pharmacies. Cameras and 18 monitors will keep a watchful eye on public areas, and residents will be protected inside their suites with the Quiet Care System, a motion monitor that gets to know residents’ behavior and patterns, while still protecting their privacy.
Boumeester explains that if something is out of character — such as a resident getting up unusually often at night — the system will alert the on-site CNAs so they can monitor the resident for conditions such as a possible urinary tract infection.
Anyone entering the facility, whether they are family members, third party providers or doctors, will be checked out by Accushield, a digital sign-in kiosk that verifies providers’ credentials, time spent in the building, and provides criminal and health backgrounds. All visitors will be issued a badge with a photograph, but the ink on the badge will disappear after 24 hours.
Alessi says that all residents also will have a 46-inch flat-screen TV in their suite, which will be s set up to communicate through Skype and Facebook.
“Technology gives us the cutting edge,” says Alessi. “But, it’s our people who take care of the residents. It’s very important to us to hire and have a team that is passionate about senior living. We are dealing with a social model for care.”
That’s why caregivers at Legacy will wear khaki pants and polo shirts, not scrubs. “This isn’t a clinical environment,” Alessi says.
That’s also why the community was designed with several communal areas to help residents stay connected and engaged with each other. Even the Memory Care area, which is secured and enclosed, has green space.
“It is so important for residents not to feel captive, to have the ability to walk outside, but still in a secure environment,” says Boumeester.
A “director of excitement” will plan entertainment for residents, and will have the use of a motor coach for trips to the doctor, casino or theatre. Legacy residents can enjoy everything from pet therapy to Xbox games, even engaging in friendly Kinect (an exercise game for Xbox) competition with residents of sister properties. They also can use a computer on a wheeled cart provided by It’s Never 2 Late (iN2L), a company that designs technology for seniors to keep their minds sharp with games and music.
“We want to make sure their days are meaningful and purposeful,” Boumeester says. “It’s going to be fun to live here.”
Boumeester, who received her A.S. degree in Health Information Management from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, has worked with assisted living and memory care populations for more than 15 years and has received her State-mandated Core training. Alessi, who holds a B.S. degree from Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, began her career as a recreational therapist 18 years ago. She spent 13 years working in continuing care retirement communities before turning to specializing in assisted living. Gonzales comes to the Legacy from a hospitality background.
“We become educators in this industry,” says Boumeester. “Especially in memory care, (situations are often) emergencies. People are emotional, upset, tired. This is social work.”
The Legacy may be the first assisted living community in New Tampa, but Alessi and Boumeester are hopeful that more will follow.
“The need is here,” Boumeester says. “The average age in the industry is 88 for assisted living. We’re marketing for ages 60 and up to adult children (who are searching for assisted living for their parents). I don’t think (the community) can build enough assisted living (centers) to keep up with demand. We’re happy to be the first in the area, but we know more are coming and we welcome that. Seniors deserve choice.”
The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve is an assisted living and memory care center located at 18600 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. For more info, call 375-9858 or visit LegacyatHighwoodsPreserve.com. You can walk in or schedule a tour Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday.
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