Interview with Parkland on the Glen family member, Shannon Colbert

During the pandemic, the folks at Parkland on the Glen were so helpful. We were welcomed. We were welcomed into their community. 

I don’t think that my mom has had a chance to really get a good feel for all the activities and the amenities and all the good things about Parkland at the moment, because of course, they’ve had to shut some things down. But today, as of today [this interview is from 2021 -- ed.], they’re starting to reopen, and activities are starting to come up. They have regular newsletters, so both my mom, my sister, and I are fully informed of what the activities are going to be for the week. Mom seems to be excited about opening and looking forward to some of the activities that are coming on the block.

From the minute you walk in, you get to know the concierge, and there’s a fellow there named Brian. It’s like you walk in, or my mom walks in after being out, and it’s a friendly, “Hey, Brian,” and he knows everybody by name. So it’s a comfortable place to be, even for me when I come to visit.

Our first meeting was with Grace, the Lifestyle Consultant. Grace was our first meeting point, and I guess you could say she was the face of Parkland on the Glen. Right away, we both hit it off, my mom and I, with Grace.

Grace has been there for 10 years, probably more than 10 years now. Just knowing that somebody like Grace has been there that long gives you that feeling that, yeah, this is a good place for her to want to stay this long and be part of that community. That says a lot to my mom and me. Even today, Grace is out and about on the floor, and again, it’s that familiar face, and she knows everybody, and it’s a friendly hello. Grace has always been somebody who has made Parkland feel comfortable for us.

My mom has a really nice suite. She’s got a corner unit, and it has a wraparound balcony. For my mom, that was a huge hit.

Prior to moving into Parkland on the Glen, she was in a condo and it had floor-to-ceiling windows, but no balcony. So when she saw the model suite for Parkland and the wraparound balcony, her face lit up, and she immediately felt comfortable. Like, I could live here. I could see myself planting little tomatoes, which she has today. She’s planted tomatoes. She’s got the ability to put flowers on her balcony, which she never did before.

So her suite has such a nice view, and that really made it for my mom.

Now, again, we go back to being in the pandemic, and not a lot of social in-person activities have taken place [interview from 2021 - ed.]. But the staff worked so hard to try and keep these residents from feeling isolated. The general manager, Lisa, would come on the loudspeaker, and she’s quite the comedian at times. Being the captain of the ship, she kept her crew laughing and updated, which was very important during this pandemic.

The communications were great, especially through this pandemic. With those communications, they have a team of two young girls, I think Amanda and Jordan, who are part of the social and activity group, keeping the residents engaged. Entertainers are booked. The fellow that plays the grand piano comes in.

It reminds me of being on a cruise ship, where you can go sit at the Bistro if you want. You can go sit by the piano where the fellow takes requests. You can sit by the beautiful fireplace. The amenities are beautiful. As a primary caregiver, I can enjoy these amenities with my mom.

My dad passed away in November of 2019, and my mom had always envisioned that both her and my dad would move into a place like Parkland on the Glen together because of all the amenities it had to offer. But unfortunately, Dad didn’t make it. So Mom still went ahead with the decision to move in.

Because of her age and not having my dad around with her, having the care, should she need it, be available to us, I think she feels a lot safer being on her own. She’s really not on her own because she has that community of people around her that make her feel safe.

My sister and I feel a lot more at ease that if she did need help, it’s just a push of the button and somebody is there. That was not something that she had in the condo that she was in before. So she feels safe. My sister and I feel a lot more at ease because she’s safe. Just knowing that there’s somebody there at the push of the button is everything to us.

Being in the pandemic, she wasn’t able to enjoy the amenities that they have. But now that things are opening, I can see her becoming more involved with the activities that they’re going to have planned. I can see her feeling like she’s meeting new people now that the pandemic is starting to open up or the pandemic is getting a little bit better. She’s beginning to meet more people, make new friends, and eventually being able to sit with different people at the dining room will open up more of a circle of friends and activities for her in the very near future.

The general manager, Lisa Tracy, is like the captain of the ship, and she is quite funny and uplifting, as well as Grace, the lifestyle consultant there. Shannex Corporation is a company that started out east, and they have that down east, hometown feel to it. That’s what I read about Parkland on the Glen.

When we actually visited and met Lisa and met Grace, that down-home feeling really did come through. It comes through in the announcements they make. It comes through in some of the activities that they’re starting to plan. It really is a down-home feel. It’s a family feeling where it’s a small community where everybody knows everybody and says hello, and it’s comfortable.

Having my mom at Parkland on the Glen has helped my sister and me greatly. It’s a feeling of relief that she’s in a place where she’s happy, but she’s also being cared for by some really great people. Losing my dad, and my mom having lost her husband, I had worried about her being lonely on her own in her condo.

So moving into Parkland on the Glen, I don’t have that worry anymore because she’s making friends, and there’s no reason she has to be lonely because there are so many people and activities that she can do at her choice. I can feel safe knowing that I can go on a vacation and know that, oh, "Mom’s okay." I’m not going to get that call in the middle of the night from my mom saying, I need help.

She’s very independent that way, and she doesn’t like to burden my sister and me. I just know that she’s happy there, she feels good there, and that makes me feel good that she’s taken care of. 

When you’re looking for the right place for your parents or your loved ones to move into, it’s got to be their decision, and they have to feel comfortable with that decision. From day one with the people that we met, that is what made Parkland on the Glen feel like a community that my mom would be happy to be a part of.

When we went around and looked at other retirement residences, we didn’t get that same feel as moving into a community. Some of the other places were beautiful. But I think it’s the whole package about Parkland that made sense to us, from the first time that we walked in, to the amenities that we saw, to the staff that we didn’t know but were very open to greeting us whether we were going to be living there or not.

It was a friendly feeling from when we first walked in. The way they have things set up when you walk in, it’s a very welcoming lobby. Again, the concierge is there and very friendly. Some of these other places don’t necessarily have that. It is the first impression that’s very important, and that’s what puts Parkland ahead of all the others on the list.

When you’re looking at the suites, your loved one is probably going to be making the last move that they’re going to make. So picking a suite that works for them and the way that your loved one’s lifestyle still is today is important. My mom is very active and likes to be able to plant her garden on her balcony. So, looking at things that will continue to help your loved one thrive is very important. You’re looking at those amenities. You’re looking at the way that the lounges are set up for social activities. That’s what I would say for people to look at, the overall package.

My mom and dad had always envisioned moving into a retirement residence together, and they did do a little bit of their homework prior to my dad passing. So when my dad did pass, my mom was on her own. We looked at a couple of other places, and again, we chose Parkland on the Glen because of the feeling that it gave us, that overall package, compared to some of the other places that we visited. Mom’s decision to move into Parkland, number one, was that she felt comfortable there.

She also knew that Parkland would have the amenities to offer should her level of care change. Being on her own, it was important that she find a place that she was comfortable with and that she would feel that she wouldn’t be a burden on my sister and me.

Of course, I never would want my mom to think that she was ever a burden. She’s not. We love her dearly. But that was important to her, that she wouldn’t feel like she would be a burden to us. So she found the place that she was comfortable with.

When we walked in, the concierge was there. It was very nicely set up. The concierge fellow there, Brian, was a very friendly guy, and he’s your go-to guy. We heard that while we were waiting for our appointment with Grace, the lifestyle consultant.

When we walked in, the lounge had a beautiful floor-to-ceiling fireplace. My sister, my mom, and I thought, "Wow, this is really nice." We could see ourselves sitting there getting a coffee at the Bistro. The Bistro was there, the grand piano was there. It felt like a lounge on a cruise ship or something. I thought, "Oh, Mom, maybe this might feel like you’re living on a cruise ship for the rest of your life here." It just had that really neat feeling about it. They have a Bistro.

They’re going to have activities there. They have a grand piano. We know that that’s going to get played. They have this beautiful fireplace. We know that’s going to get used. And that was not even seeing the spa area. The dining room area was beautiful. It was under construction and being updated, but the plans looked beautiful. It looked like walking into a beautiful hotel or something. When you walk in, it feels like you’re in a resort area. It certainly does feel like that.

My dad had passed away, and Mom was on her own. Mom wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t feel like she was a burden on my sister and me, and she’s very stubborn sometimes. So part of her journey was to find a place where she would feel comfortable and that my sister and I would feel good about her being there. That’s where Parkland on the Glen came in.

The location is perfect because it ended up being between my sister’s house and my house, so it was very easy for us to get to. Part of her decision-making was to be able to find a place where she could feel comfortable. Of course, she’s missing the opportunity to share this with my dad, but it’s a place where she knows that she can get extra help if she needs it. So Mom moving into Parkland on the Glen made my sister and me feel comfortable knowing that for my mom’s journey, should she need some extra help, that it was there, and that’s a comforting feeling.

Do your homework and read about the background of these retirement homes. Make sure you take advantage of doing a thorough tour. Make sure you have the opportunity to ask questions and get to know the people. If you have time, talk to the concierge, talk to a resident who’s already living there.

One thing that stood out to both my mom and me is when we actually spoke to a resident living at Parkland on the Glen, she said to us, "I am so glad that I made that move, and I wish I had done it earlier." That really sat well with my mom, my sister, and me. For a resident to say that they’re feeling comfortable there and wish that they’d moved earlier, that was the ticket for my mom. She said, I like this place.

At first, I thought the move-in process was going to be very daunting because she had collected a number of items and spare things here and there. We were hooked up with a moving company, and Grace from Parkland on the Glen had a number of different movers that we could call and get some estimates.

The movers she recommended were so good from the beginning of the process to the very end. They packed everything for us, so what a relief for my sister and me. We just had to do a little bit of our own homework and sort piles that we wanted to bring with us and what we wanted to maybe give away to charity. The moving company actually took those boxes to charity for us. So moving in was really a breeze with the right company. 

They unpacked everything for my mom. It was a very long day, but they stayed until that very last picture was hung on the wall. It’s a fantastic company, and I would highly recommend people moving their parents from one residence to another to really check into this particular company. The move itself was very easy. The first night my mom was there, she was all set up. It was like she could start her next chapter all set up and ready to go.

I would do nothing differently. I think we’re pretty happy with the move and the decision process. My mom and dad did some homework prior to my dad passing, so my mom already knew she was going to move into a retirement residence. Unfortunately, it wasn’t with Dad, but she did make the move on her own.

We did do our homework by touring other places, other retirement homes. We did make sure we got in to see the retirement places and to talk to people in the retirement places.

No, I think we’re pretty pleased, and my mom is very happy where she’s at and happy with the decision that she made to move into Parkland on the Glen.