Blue Heron Senior Living, located on Eagleston Blvd. off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Seven Oaks (near the new BayCare Wesley Chapel Hospital) is home to four distinct lifestyle communities.
Community relations director Lilly Gonzalez explains, “We are the only community in the Wesley Chapel or New Tampa area that combines assisted living with memory care, skilled rehab and long-term care, all on one campus.”
This allows people to move between areas as needed — whether that means aging in place in a move from an active assisted living lifestyle to memory care or long-term care, or moving from rehab back to home in assisted living.
Blue Heron’s campus also is expanding, as a long-awaited new wing was supposed to be unveiled at a Grand Opening ceremony this Thursday, but has been postponed due to Hurricane Milton. We will post the rescheduled date on here as soon as it’s announced.
The expansion will add 35 skilled nursing rooms to its existing 106 rooms, bringing the total number of rooms to 141. Each room is private to accommodate one person who is either in long-term care (meaning they need more medical assistance than can be provided in the assisted living facility) or for rehabilitation, which is when someone needs care after leaving the hospital but before returning home.
Edward Ley recently had hip replacement surgery and needed physical therapy before he could return to his home in Lutz. He chose Blue Heron for his rehab care.
“The stay here has been far more than I ever expected,” Edward said. “The facility is great, but the rehab also has been really, really good.”
He says he’s been so impressed with the quality of care he’s received that, once he’s released to return home and recover with in-home care, he plans to return for outpatient physical therapy.
“I like these people,” he says. “They’re good at what they do.”
Edward says his occupational and physical therapists recognized his love for golf and have worked with him on the facility’s putting green, making the therapy more fun and personal for him. He says his therapist sometimes even picks him up from his room with a cup of coffee for him in hand.
Executive Director Meagan Kopstad says that with the growth in the area and a third hospital being added in Wesley Chapel (Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch), the need for rehab facilities and long-term care beds is significant. Meagan says she is excited for the new wing to open to accommodate more people who need those facilities.
She’s also happy to have a new partner on board who is able to give additional attention to the assisted living side of the campus.
In May, Assistant Living Administrator Courtney Dyer joined the team, bringing about 15 years of experience to the community. She was most recently the regional director of operations for a much larger company.
Courtney says that what drew her to want to work at Blue Heron is the company’s care for people, both its residents and staff.
“Our care is above and beyond a typical assistant living facility,” she says. “Our staffing ratios are way better than normal, and the quality of people and their length of employment is well above what’s typical.”
Amenities & Activities
Blue Heron’s assisted living community includes about 100 residents in studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental apartments (with no buy-in required). Some of the units have balconies that overlook a courtyard and pond, offering beautiful views.
The main dining area serves up to three chef-prepared restaurant-style meals a day to residents. There is a resident exercise room, on-site salon for hair and nail appointments, community games such as BINGO and Bunko, live music, movies in the cinema and transportation provided to go to the local grocery store or to doctor appointments.
The bustling activities are resident Beverly Fleming’s favorite thing about living at Blue Heron. “It’s where the action is,” Beverly says, “and it keeps me busy.”
Beverly also says she enjoys playing games and being part of Blue Heron’s resident council, which chooses what activities will be offered for weekly outings. These outings could be shopping, a meal in a restaurant, or to go see a play. The group visited a winery recently, and loved it so much that they plan to go back. Beverly also got to attend her first Major League Baseball game — to see the Tampa Bay Rays play — and tried to take in the whole experience, including eating hot dogs in the stadium.
Beverly says new experiences that might feel overwhelming are more comfortable with the Blue Heron staff who take them on these trips.
“The people who drive us aren’t just drivers,” Beverly says. “If someone has trouble figuring out a tip or needs help ordering off a menu, they are there to help, and I’m so thankful for them.”
Beverly also serves as a resident ambassador, helping to welcome a new resident to the community, giving them a tour of the building and sitting with them at meals until they get comfortable in their new home.
“We have staff who help with that transition, of course,” Lilly notes, “but it’s nice to have a peer helper from a different perspective.”
For Blue Heron residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, the community offers a separated, secured, but intimate Memory Care community, which allows those residents to thrive and not be overwhelmed. Offering a smaller home-like environment also ensures these residents receive the personalized attention and programming they deserve.
The Memory Care community provides a supervised neighborhood for residents, while also allowing them to maintain some independence.
For those who already live at Blue Heron, if skilled nursing or long-term care is needed, the transition to that care is seamless. It allows a husband or wife to visit their spouse with just a walk down the hallway when that spouse is in need of additional care — no need for transportation or spending long hours in an unfamiliar facility.
For residents such as Beverly, Blue Heron is a place of joy that keeps her active and fulfilled.
“This is a beautiful place, a lovely place to be,” she says, “and they really do take good care of you.”
Blue Heron Senior Living is located at 5071 Eagleston Blvd. in Wesley Chapel, and its hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the weekends. For more information, call (813) 454-0513 or visit SeniorLivingAtBlueHeron.com.
