Interview with Dr. Hemstock Retirement Residence and Hearthstone Place Verve Senior Living resident, Betty Evans

I have had a big adjustment from living on a farm, in a big farm home with just two of us in the house, to coming into a residence where there are so many people and a small apartment. But right now, I am a very happy camper at Hearthstone Place. I have enjoyed the move much better than I anticipated. I have fewer worries than I had on the farm. I don’t have to worry about the roads so much, or the heating equipment in my house breaking down, things like that. It’s all taken care of for me, so I’m quite relaxed and happy. They keep me busy. There are plenty of things to do if I choose to do them. So yes, life is quite pleasant.

You can do as much as you like or as little as you like here. They sometimes have crafts, and if I feel like doing that, I sign up for it. There’s a walking group that goes down to the sports center, and we can walk. I like playing cards and bingo. They have both of those. I’m able to enjoy the musical entertainment especially. I love to dance, and they allow us to do that if we wish.

The special events they have are wonderful. They put on quite a few special events. They have barbecues in the summertime, and they have smorgasbords for lunch that we can invite our friends and family to, and a birthday party once a month for all the residents. There are plenty of things to keep me busy and to entertain me. I really enjoy the camaraderie of the people when I get together with them to play cards or just to visit at coffee hours. There are lots of things to do at Hearthstone Place.

Very good. What really astonished me the first week I was there was that the entire staff seemed to know who I was. They called me by name, and they’re very pleasant and welcoming. The residents are fantastic. I haven’t had to squabble with any of them so far. They’re all very, very welcoming and very friendly people.

The staff are very helpful. They seem to know what they’re doing. Even the kitchen staff knew who I was right away. They try to accommodate you as best they can. I know it must be a huge job for them to look after the needs of all the residents, so you have to be a little patient at times to get your turn for certain things that are happening. But they have been very helpful, and if you do have a question, they’re willing to answer it for you.

I had visited friends at Hearthstone Place before, and they all seemed very happy and contented. I liked the options that were there.

I have my mentally challenged daughter with me, and we needed a place that had enough space for her. People welcomed her very, very nicely.

I liked the options of being able to eat in the dining room or to have your meals picked up. Barb doesn’t like huge crowds, and so she doesn’t like to come down to the dining room where there’s noise and commotion. So we often pick up our meals and just take them back to the apartment to eat, or I have the option of cooking on my own, which is one of the things that I really liked.

We had the option of choosing our suite. We could look at several of them, and they have a hairdresser there, and we don’t have to go out and travel so much. The foot care lady comes in. We have all sorts of options that we can follow. Many of the residents in our area are just in a one-room suite with no kitchen facilities, and so you’re having to go out for all your meals and you don’t have as many personal things that you can do.

Hearthstone Place is located close to a mall. We’re within walking distance of our dentist. The city has a good taxi service for us, and there’s a HandyDART van that can be used for group things. It’s very convenient for me.

I think the worst part of it was the paperwork. It was the changing of addresses and notifying all the government agencies, and that was the thing that was the most stressful for me. My family pretty much just moved all our things in for us, and that part of it wasn’t difficult.

The staff at Hearthstone Place were good at helping us with anything, any questions that we had. They had equipment for us to move our furniture, heavy furniture, and so on. So no, it wasn’t a difficult process physically. It was the mental process that was difficult, just getting all the things in order to establish yourself there.

I felt at home right away. Everyone made me feel so welcome. Barbara, not so much, because she missed the farm desperately. But she calls it home now. We drove in maybe three months after we had been there, and she said, oh, home again. So that was good.

If you can afford it, I would definitely recommend Hearthstone Place. This is the one thing that a lot of seniors cannot afford, living there, because their income is restricted. If they could afford it, I would definitely recommend it. I tell them, try it, you’ll like it.

My largest challenge was getting up in the morning in time for breakfast and getting dressed. I was used to just hanging out in my housecoat until I wanted to go somewhere. That was just my personal challenge. It’s the routine. You have to adapt yourself to a different routine. Things are done at set times, and you’re used to being on your own and doing things when you feel like it.

Some of the residents have had challenges in repairs and maintenance. I haven’t had that, but I’ve been very fortunate that way. It seems to take a long time to even get a light bulb changed at times. Timetabling is sometimes confusing because they put two things on at the same time. They might have singing and cards both at 1:30. Now you have to make a choice. So making choices is sometimes difficult.

I would definitely start downsizing at home much sooner, much, much sooner. My granddaughter took over my home, and she had to move out of hers. I wasn’t all out of mine, and it was a mess. So anyway, that was just a personal thing. I would definitely downsize sooner. I would ask more questions coming in. There were some things that I didn’t know about until I heard them from some of my friends. They can’t possibly think of telling you every little detail, but if there’s something you need to know, ask more questions and find out exactly how things work.

Another thing that would be awfully good at Hearthstone Place is if we had our own van. I know we have the HandyDART van, we have taxis, and so on, but there’s always a wait time, and sometimes they’re busy doing another run or something, and then you miss out on some of the time that you have allotted for that activity. If they could possibly afford their own van, that would be very handy. I know one thing that is prohibitive is the insurance on such a vehicle, but it would be very helpful if we had a van there. There is a government-run facility near there, and there are probably only 20 residents there, but they’re able to take their residents out on outings and so on without having to solicit some group to do it for them. I think we do have some on staff that are qualified to drive that.

Life has been quite good there. I tell my friends, don’t wait till you have to move. Make it your decision. It’s so much better. You come in with a totally different attitude because you have made this decision, and you have already determined that this is going to be your home.