Assisted Living: Changing the perception of senior care one life at a time.
Current Resident, Helen Hall, shares her view of living at Camellia Place for Assisted Living.
“I became familiar with Camellia Place through my daughter. As a radio personality, she would suggest this place to those searching for a senior care facility. When my husband and I got older, she felt that we should relinquish our apartment and move into assisted living. My daughter arranged a visit to Camellia Place and when she met some of the staff she immediately felt comfortable enough for us to live here. She finally convinced us that we needed to move into the neighborhood and we did. The location was also close to my daughters home, so they could visit when they wanted. My husband and I lived here together for more than a year until he passed away.
Life after the passing of my husband has not been easy, but living at Camellia Place has been therapeutic. I get up early in the morning and I do everything myself. No one does anything for me as I am very independent.
I start my day with breakfast where I talk with everyone and get a chance to see all the residents. After breakfast, there is a fun activity. Then I go to art or painting class, or play games. The staff keep us engaged and will always have something for us to do.”
Next up is lunch where we eat good food together. And of course, there is more fun to be had after lunch. I like to read, and the book I am reading now is one on Asperger’s Syndrome. I used to work with children who had this condition, so learning about it in more detail has been very interesting.”
“The facility is just wonderful and I personally think that I have the best room. Going to the kitchen where we commune together is just a few steps away. I love the tv area and the little spaces that we can go to and just hang out with each other. The front porch is also special place. In fact, it’s our favorite. It is open on both ends and we are drawn to its cool breeze. We have special events here, like concerts, and we gather there to talk about whatever is on our minds. It is also special because it is where we spend time with our families. Camellia Place is fairly close to my daughter so she can drop by if she needs to, or if I have to have something that needs her attention. She doesn’t drop by often, but she’ll call and leave things down here and they will bring it up to me. And she calls every night to check on me. So, I stay connected to my own family. The wonderful caregivers at Camellia Place try hard to keep us happy all the time. Everybody around here does a really good job with that, other staff included. But the caregivers know what we like and don’t like. Most of the residents are very independent, and they try to accommodate our needs and wants. For example, if we like a certain thing at dinner, they will get it. Or, if you don’t like what’s on the menu, they will substitute something. They get to know us like that. It’s like an extra family. In fact, if I had to sum up my experience at Camellia Place in one word, it would be “family.” It has a family atmosphere. We get to know a lot about each other. We don’t tell all our secrets, but we get to know each other individually, and what our likes and dislikes are. We get to know each other’s favorite things, what we like to talk about, and what we like to say over and over and over again as we get older. We all get along really well. The “homey” atmosphere is my favorite thing about being here.” Helen Hall
