Why I Chose Cendal at Granville

Both personal and professional factors entered into my decision to choose Kendal at Granville as my “retirement” home.  It was the professional factors which made me choose Kendal and the personal factors that made me choose the Kendal at Granville.

The professional factors affecting my choice were intertwined with my career as a nurse educator.   Teaching geriatric nursing was a part of my practice as a nurse.  Living in a Philadelphia suburb as I did, I couldn’t help being aware of the fine reputation of the nearby Kendal communities and what they were doing to transform the care of the aging.  I was familiar with what they were doing to free people from restraints, both physical and chemical – something I had advocated for some time.  I also was aware that Kendal was working to improve the quality of care by setting standards and establishing accreditation of institutions caring for the aged. Parallel experience in nursing gave me first hand experience of the role of accreditation initiatives in bringing about improvements in nursing education. 

Knowing the reputation for the quality of life as a Kendal resident, Kendal efforts to free patients from restraints, and what they were doing to improve standards of care of the aging convinced me Kendal would be a good choice.  Having made that choice I had to decide which Kendal.

After my husband died in1995 the trip back to my home state of Ohio grew longer and longer each time I made it to visit my son and his family in Lancaster, Ohio and my stepson and his family in Lima, Ohio.  As my young granddaughter in Lima told me, “Grandma, I like to visit you, but I don’t like making the long trip.”   I could see the writing on the wall.  If I wanted to be closer to family so I could be a part of their lives, I would need to find a Kendal or something akin to it in Ohio.  I   could scarcely believe it when I learned there was a Kendal being built in Granville, Ohio which was only a thirty minute drive from my son’s home in Lancaster.           

Looking back over my life here since July 2005   I believe my choice of Kendal at Granville was one of the best decisions I have made in my 88 years.  I have no regrets and I should add that my family members are thankful not only that I am nearby but also in a place where they don’t have to worry about me.  My grandsons have loved coming to visit me and take advantage of our wonderful pool.  They also have enjoyed eating here with me frequently.  Now that they have gone off to college and so no longer visit me frequently I am grateful that for the past ten years I have been close enough to have been more involved in their lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kendal Throws a Party

In case you hadn't heard, Kendal at Granville had a gala party last month. A Tenth Anniversary Party!! A party to make everyone happy! A party to remember!  I've been late in commenting on it because I wanted to give myself time to get my mind around what we'd done. I'm not sure I've accomplished that goal, but the clock keeps ticking and I don't want to be hopelessly late in posting this entry. So. . . .

The official birthday of Kendal at Granville was Wednesday, June 15. But preparations began much earlier, allowing expectations  slowly to spread. A planning committee was formed. Announcements started to appear, reminding residents to save the dates. Notices were emblazoned in issues of Tower Lines, the monthly newsletter. The Kendaliers began weekly rehearsals for a new Kendal anthem. A schedule of events was distributed. A videographer visited the campus, recording various activities. Gradually residents began to realize that something big was afoot and to talk ever more widely about the coming celebration.

On June 1 the first mark of the celebration burst on the scene when the gallery opened a month-long display of photos. They showed early residents and staff members struggling with the challenges of creating a new community amid mud and partially constructed housing units, organizing themselves into operational committees, enjoying their time together in parties, celebrating national holidays, and pausing to pose proudly as they settled in to their new lives with their many new friends in their new community. Some of those in the pictures have died over the past decade; but many still live at Kendal. All these faces reminded us in 2015 of the debt we owe to those who, in 2005, had the optimism and courage to sign on to the new venture. Nor surprisingly, the exhibit was popular with everyone, and almost any time you passed through the gallery you found people – residents and guests – viewing the display.

The next major event was held in the Amelia Room on the evening of Monday, June 13. It was a kind of preparatory moment, and because it was the occasion for the official group photo of all current residents, virtually everyone attended, some of them sporting Kendal gear of various shapes and colors. Amid laughter, chatting, and brief breaks for sobriety, we lined ourselves up and posed en masse for a three-part photo that, by the magic of photographic coordination, will be converted into a single horizontally extended picture of about 170 people.  

The Monday gathering provided an opportunity for other activities too. The new Kendal video was premiered, to wide approval. The new anthem was debuted and encored. The special commemorative issue of Tower Tales was distributed to all residents. It featured pieces by residents and staff who were present at the founding and color photos of many of the events and people from those founding days. A questionnaire about Kendal trivia was distributed, and residents were given two days – until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday – to decide upon their answers. [Sample questions: how many pianos may be found at Kendal? Name the resident who was a Rhodes Scholar? Which staff member was once an employee of the Columbus Blue Jackets?] Cheating was encouraged!

The big day, of course, was Wednesday, the 15th –  the All-Day Anniversary Celebration. It began with a continental breakfast, attended by both residents and guests. A panel discussion (the Founders Reflection Coffee) followed, featuring a few individuals who had played determinative roles in the founding of Kendal at Granville. Above all, there was Jack Heller, Jane Heller, and Dave Richards, three members of the quartet (with Dave's late wife Dee) who first had the vision of creating a CCRC in Granville and the salesmanship to persuade the Kendal Corporation to buy into that vision. Also on the panel were Harriett Stone, the very first resident to move in; Bobbi Thios, popular director of marketing and cheerleader of the early enterprise; and Tom Mitchell, clerk of the works as Kendal at Granville rose from a field of ground southwest of the town. Interest in the panel was so great that the overflow from the Heller Room filled almost all of the Richards Room.

The mid-day meal was a community pot luck and luncheon, served in the Amelia Room and offering delicious options and surprises and a startling array of scrumptious-looking desserts. The crowd was so large that it spread out through hallways and public rooms. But wherever you went it seemed, there were instrumentalists providing lovely music. 

At 1:30 the Anniversary Tree was dedicated. A gift from KAGRA to the community, it was a sour gum or black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), a tree native to Ohio that flowers in the spring and provides breathtaking foliage in the fall. A slow drizzle did not discourage a crowd from gathering for the event.

At 3:00 the the trivia challenge awards were conferred, and against a background of giggles, chortles, and gasps as answers were announced, a variety of hard-researching or maybe just plain lucky residents won well-earned recognition as those among us who were most knowledgeable about our community.

The major gathering of the day – the moment for Celebration Remarks – drew a large gathering back to the Amelia Room at 4:00. Doug Helman, Executive Director of Kendal at Granville, honored the Hellers and the Richards and told the audience that Kendal at Granville's story was a tale of "self-determination, perseverance, generosity, and community outreach." [His full remarks were printed in the July edition of Tower Lines.] Mike Rapp, Chair of Kendal at Granville's Board, spoke of the importance of Kendal. Seth Patton, Chief Financial Officer of Denison University, our invaluable partner in the Kendal story, talked of Denison's role and commitment to Kendal at Granville. Finally, John Diffey, Chief Executive Officer of Kendal Corporation, spoke warmly of the happy months he had spent in Granville prior to the opening of Kendal, working with public officials and private individuals to help smooth the path toward eventual success. Since John has recently announced his coming retirement, and since for many of us he represents the values that undergird the Kendal project and mission, he was warmly received.

The speakers' remarks were followed by the public recognition of two important groups: staff members who have served here for ten years, and staff members who had recently graduated from degree programs.

Even after the meeting ended, many who had attended stuck around for some important photo opportunities. The first – the most significant of all – was of the more than fifty current residents who are classified as "founders" [defined as people who moved in during the first year of Kendal at Granville's existence]. Then photos were taken of the staff and of all Board members, past and present. Future historians should have no trouble finding images for any study of Kendal's glorious Tenth.

Credit for this unforgettable celebration is owed to many people. My own perspective is no doubt incomplete, but it seemed to me that the person who led the organizing of the celebration and oversaw the skein of events that constituted it was Ashley Wade, Director of Marketing. Many thanks should go to her. 

In retrospect I have been struck by how moved I was by the unfolding of the celebration. We were all having fun and didn';t care that the weather was disobliging. We learned about our history and the debt we owe to the vision and determination of the founders. We felt the power of the sense of community that knits us together. We gained a richer sense of the promise of the future as we thought about our role in the Kendal universe. We came together. It all left a nice, warm feeling.

And one thing is for sure: Kendal at Granville knows how to throw a helluva party!

Kendal at Granville Tenth Anniversary Reflections

June 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of Kendal at Granville.  Residents and staff have been preparing for months to observe this occasion with a celebration indicative of the significance of this date.

A variety of activities are on the agenda.  As a prelude on June first members of the Gallery Committee   installed a Photo History Exhibit  entitled “From Conception to Reality” in our Art Gallery.

The schedule for the official Kickoff of Anniversary Week Activities set for Monday, June 15 follows:        
          4:30  Group Resident Photo Shoot
          5:00  Official Opening of Photo History Exhibit
                   Ice Cream Social (Always a big favorite here)
          7:15  Premiere of Kendal at Granville Video
                   Introduction of “Mound and Tower”, a   Kendal Anthem
                   Distribution of Anniversary Edition of "Tower Tales"

            
The schedule for Wednesday, June 17 includes:
         8:00 Continental Breakfast
         9:00 Founder’s Reflections
       10:30 Guided Hike to The  Pond
       11:30 Community Luncheon
         1:30  Tree Planting and Dedication
         4:00 Anniversary Program with Speakers,
                 Trivia Prizes and Service Awards
                 Appetizers and Cocktails
          9:00 Release of Luminaria

 

The fact that an anniversary is by definition an observance of a past event of significance inevitably leads to reflections on the past.  

As I look back over my ten years here I recall how when those of us who were early arrivals found ourselves with what seemed to be a sea of mud. The recently sown grass had not yet taken hold and there had been a lot rain.  We discovered in short order that the ground was very hard since the top soil had been removed during the construction phase and the heavy equipment had compacted the soil until it seemed to be as hard as concrete. We tackled the task of transforming our grounds with hard work, mulch, more hard work, (sometimes resorting to pick axes) and finally flowers.

The dinner hour was a great time to take a break from unpacking and spend timer getting to know each other – where we came from, what we did before coming to KAG, details about our families, etc.  We shared stories about progress or problems with unpacking.  I remember one couple couldn’t find their toaster for several weeks.  Finally when they got to the last box which was left to last because it was labeled “pictures” they found the missing toaster.  (Wonder what genius of a mover packed it there!) I wasn’t so lucky.  I discovered that the movers had managed to lose a drawer from one of my small stands.  Fortunately I can still use it with the opening for the missing drawer facing the wall.  (Ever so often I wonder what the movers did with that drawer.   Of what use is an orphan drawer to anyone?)  Many of us discovered that we had more downsizing to do when everything was unpacked and arranged.  So we organized a garage sale to dispose of our excess and improve the treasury  of our Residents’ Association.

As we settled in we grew to appreciate some of the distinct advantages of life at Kendal. Some of the great conveniences and joys we uncovered here are 1. grass mowing done by summer temporary help, 2. a maintenance crew on hand to change light bulbs, handle plumbing emergencies, shovel snow,  and all that sort of thing, 3. a housekeeping staff who appeared every two weeks to relieve us of the household chores that have to be done over and over as a part of life, 4.  a dining staff who made meal planning, food shopping and preparation and KP a thing of the past for the most part, and 5. drivers to take us to medical appointments.  Best of all the people who provided us with all of these services were and still are a group of understanding caring people who manage to always make us feel that they wouldn’t want to do anything else but be there.

 

 

Together these five groups have seen us through several very trying times with ingenuity and hard work.  Two electric power outages that lasted for days not just hours and one water line break.  You would have thought they rehearsed what to do in advance.  Actually, as I look back, I realize they had prepared by learning to work together for the good of  all us here at Kendal.  It seems to be the Kendal Way.  It certainly is true here at Kendal at Granville.

One of the things I have come to truly appreciate is the diversity of residents.  Many come from Granville.  They help orient newcomers to the area. We have a goodly number of retired college faculty members representing diverse fields of study. e.g. anatomy, athletics, chemistry,computer science, history,  literature. philosophy. Other persons here have retired from careers in accounting, administration, architecture, banking, business, ministry, nursing, and  teaching – to name just a few of the occupations in our pasts.

Reading the biographies of our residents or better yet talking with them about their lives in person reveals fascinating information often unexpected.  I remember well Mary H. who

ho came from a small farm community in southern Michigan.  As I got to know Mary better I discovered that this apparently quiet unassuming woman was active in civic affairs back in Michigan and served on the Board of Education.  I was amazed to learn that during WWII she served as a WAVE and helped decipher Japanese code while stationed in the state of Washington.

Having taken a look back to ten years ago when I arrived here at Kendal and looking at Kendal as I experience it in my daily life now I can see how Kendal has grown with grace to fulfill its vision of transforming the lives of seniors.  I have come to appreciate what it means to live in a community where my joys are multiplied and my sorrows divided because I am able to share  them with friends and neighbors. Looking ahead I am thankful I chose Kendal at Granville for my “forever home.”

 

 

 

  

 

"Deepening the Conversation on Aging"

Have you ever wanted to have a chance to contribute to a conversation aimed at providing guidance for national policy discussions? Kendal at Granville had the opportunity to host such an occasion on Thursday, May 28, when it became the site of an intergenerational  discussion on aging. The event was called "Deepening the Discussion on Aging." It was part of a schedule of discussions held all around the country, focusing on the problems facing aging Americans and designed to provide streams of advice to the The White House Conference on Aging, which will hold its national gathering in July. Kendal Corporation was invited to play a major role in this enterprise, and it in turn invited four affiliates, including Granville, to host discussions.

Seventeen panelists – including four Kendal residents, high school and college-age students from Licking County and Columbus, attorneys, a local judge, and social service professionals – participated in a sharing of views. David Skeen, a Kendal at Granville resident, was the facilitator and reporter for our event, and everything was coordinated by leaders in Philadelphia. Because the sprawling event was streamed, the various participating panels had opportunities to receive reports from one another.

Each of the four host Kendals had been assigned a specific topic to discuss. Granville's subject was "Elder Justice." After receiving encouragement from a prosecutor in San Diego – ah, the wonders of streaming! – we plunged into our work, and even though our guide may have wanted us to focus on crimes of violence against seniors, we found ourselves returning again and again to discussion of the types of scams that, when successful, rob the elderly of their wealth, dignity, and ability to sustain an independent life. Perhaps the gravitational power of this subject was provided by the poignancy of the tales that many panelists shared of friends or relatives who had been tricked by criminals. 

And the subject turned out to have complexities. As those versed in the law explained, there is nothing illegal about an elderly individual whom society deems competent to make whatever decisions he or she wishes about the disposal of personal wealth. So among the themes that emerged from our conversations were these: the need for people – children, friends, doctors, clergy, bankers, social service professionals, and neighbors – to remain unintrusively attentive to what seniors are doing; the value of having adult children maintain lines of communication with their elderly parents; and the importance of social organizations' working assiduously to keep an awareness of the dangers posed by those who prey upon the elderly before the eyes of the community.

The Granville participants felt that the conversations had been eye-opening. And so, no matter what happens nationally, there is already talk of organizing follow-up activities here at Kendal. The protection of seniors in our society against those who would target, rob, and cheat them seems an eminently appropriate task for a community like Kendal at Granville to undertake.

CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

                              (CCRC)
                       ADVANTAGES

Several weeks ago at our Sunday afternoon worship service I happened to be seated with Rodney on my left in his special wheelchair adjusted to accommodate his tall, lanky frame and infirmities and Clara seated in her wheelchair on my right. I sat in between them with my rollator in front of me.  As I contemplated our circumstances I thought to myself that they clearly illustrated the advantages of having chosen a CCRC for our retirement home.   

Rodney signed up to come to Kendal at Granville as a founder fully expecting to move into a cottage upon his arrival.  But as in the words of Bobbie Burns, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley,” Rodney’s plans went astray.  Instead of moving into his cottage he entered Kendal via the health Center due to an unfortunate accident which caused injuries necessitating an extended period of rehabilitation.   After months of perseverance he was able to move to his cottage and join in community activities as he had anticipated.  Before long he became a familiar figure zooming around our campus on his bicycle.  With the passage of time changes in his life led him to move to an apartment in the community building where access to all community facilities and activities was easier for him. More recently increasing health issues have resulted in his transfer to the Health Center.

Clara came to our community in 2008.  In spite of eyesight problems she was able to live alone in a cottage for several years.  She took an active part in a variety of community activities.  Then she, like Rodney decided it would be to her advantage to move into an apartment in our community building.  So it was she became my next door neighbor. But alas and alack not too long ago she suffered a fall leaving her with injuries resulting in her transfer to our Health Center.

When I moved to Kendal I chose an apartment because I wanted no more of going out in all kinds of weather to get to community activities and frequently used services.  In 2007 following two weeks in the hospital for emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix I needed a few days in assisted living when I was discharged to help me make the transition back to independent living.  Then in 2009 following open chest surgery to remove a large substernal goiter I needed skilled nursing care and physical therapy during my recovery.  So I was admitted to the Health Center where I spent approximately one month. 

Fortunately all of these moves were relatively simple for all three of us because we lived in a CCRC where movement between levels of care is done with comparative ease.  Had we been living in a community without these component parts we would have had to make arrangements to enter a facility that has them – all of this at a time when due to our situation we would not have been at our best.

People comparing retirement communities often fail to see the differences between those limited to independent living and those with more comprehensive programs i.e.  physical therapy, assisted living, hospice, and skilled nursing (services commonly needed as we grow older).  For example I have a friend who now lives in an assisted living community.  If/when the time comes when she needs skilled nursing or hospice care, she and/or her family will have to go through the process of locating another facility that will accept her and make arrangements for her to be admitted there.  Not knowing in advance when this time will come and what the exact circumstances will be at that time, they cannot make advance arrangements.  Thus they are likely to find themselves with limited time to carry out the search for a suitable facility.  How much easier it would be if she lived in a CCRC where the philosophy of health care incorporates a continuum which includes a wellness program, assisted living, and a health center which provides skilled nursing.

This I do know my son and daughter-in-law have often told me how relieved they are that  I chose a CCRC.  They know that they won’t get a call someday telling them that something has happened to me necessitating my leaving Kendal and moving somewhere else to spend my last days.  Also it is comforting for me to know that they don’t have to worry about finding another place for me.

Refreshing Winds at Kendal

Last Monday evening a group of talented student wind players from Denison University (complemented by a handful of Lakewood High School students and full-fledged adults) came to Kendal to entertain us. They succeeded. Performing in a variety of ensembles, they gave us pieces by Verdi, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Reicha, Praetorius, a number of contemporary composers whose names I didn't recognize, and that constant concert favorite, anon.

The variety in sonorities was startling. The concert opened with a French horn horn duet, and then, as other horn players joined for subsequent numbers, we were finally confronted with a horn quintet, playing that quintessential horn piece, a summons to hunting, and setting the metaphorical rafters of the Amelia Room ringing.

A brass quartet came next, with a concert tuba extending the range of rumbling sound downward at least another two octaves. Then came a flute trio, with a flighty piccolo extending the range at the other end, almost (it seemed) to the limits of human hearing. 

This group was followed by Denison's newest performance association, the Early Music Ensemble. The musicians were performing on fascinating instruments that are really the forebears of most of the orchestral instruments of today. As befit their title, they played sixteenth- and seventeenth-century music for us. The concert concluded with a flute nonet performing transcriptions of some lively, dance-worthy contemporary works.

When the students introduced themselves, we learned that they came from around the country, that their academic interests were arrayed across a number of majors (though mentions of Biology recurred frequently), and that some were already enjoying academic distinction – one, for example, had recently delivered a scholarly presentation at a national conference, and another has been awarded a Fulbright.

The cooperation between Kendal and Denison exists on many fronts and serves the interests of both institutions. But the occasions that bring the greatest joy to Kendal residents are those when Denison musicians and dancers perform at Kendal. There's nothing like youthful talent to delight our hearts and souls.

"A Fair to Remember" Remembered

    On April 15 the Kendal Institute presented “A Fair to Remember,” a program focused on giving Kendal residents some sense of the wide array of opportunities available to us to engage with the educational institutions serving our wider community. The fourth special event sponsored by the institute this year, the "Fair to Remember" was truly well-named.

    Display desks ringed the Amelia Room, and their colorful installations gave a festive appearance to the occasion. A student from Lakewood High School was at the keyboard. For over an hour curious residents bustled, shuffled, and ambled their way around the room, either with or against the traffic, visiting the displays that interested them. They talked with the invariably cheerful representatives who sat behind the desks and examined the brochures and hand-outs and sign-up lists that lay before them. When residents wanted to take a break, they moved toward the center of the room, where clusters of chairs invited resting, chatting, observing, and enjoying of snacks, including some wonderful ice cream bars that kept mysteriously appearing – thanks to Ye Olde Mill and the Velvet Ice Cream Company.

    The focus of the event was EDUCATION, but the planners had no intention of construing that word in any narrower sense. They saw the goal of the event to be to demonstrate how residents of Kendal could become both (and often simultaneously) senior learners and volunteers in the task of educating others.

    Institutions of formal education – the public schools, Denison University, and Central Ohio Technical College – were of course represented, offering information about both volunteering and learning opportunities. So too were the Lifelong Learning Institute and the Licking County Genealogical Society, organizations that aim at providing educational experiences to seniors. Also present were representatives of the libraries of our area, central players in the education of the citizenry of the wider community.

    Area museums had their desks. Some of these institutions were town-focused museums, repositories for the documents and artifacts that are the foundation for the work of students of local history. Others were topical in character, featuring the glass-making past of the area or the costumes and attire of earlier eras. All offered chances to learn and to volunteer.

    Finally, two major outdoor opportunities were represented: the glorious Dawes Arboretum, with one of the country’s finest public gardens; and the spectacular Newark Earthworks site, which (in conjunction with the Flint Ridge State Park site) is testimony to the impressive artistic, theological, commercial, and organizational vigor of the pre-Columbian Hopewell culture.

    Printed on the program for the event was a marvelous call to action – “Learn, Join, Volunteer, Sign Up.” There is already much evidence that many residents who visited “A Fair to Remember” accepted the invitation. We have grounds to hope therefore that the effects of the event will ripple through Kendal at Granville for years to come.