Enjoying Life with a Little Help

Finally! Free time.

The leisure of retirement can make life even more pleasurable. And senior apartments like those at the Bigfork Valley Villa can offer both a home base in the northwoods as well as activity and companionship.

As we age, however, sometimes a little extra help is needed. Perhaps daily pills need to be organized, laundry should be done or a nurse needs to be available for a chronic health condition. The skilled nursing services of a nursing home are not needed, though.

Bigfork Valley is committed to a continuum of care, explained Diane Grahek, director of nursing for senior services at Bigfork Valley, and there was a need in the community to fill the gap between those needing nursing home care and those who could live independently without any outside services.

It’s called assisted living, and it provides apartment style living with some services that help with daily living or medical issues. Best of all, it allows seniors to stay in one location, even if more services are required. The services come to them.

Two years ago, Bigfork Valley added this option to its residential campus. Today there are almost two dozen who take advantage of assisted living services.

What services can be included? A primary concern is medical care and there is the 24 hour presence of a registered nurse if needed. Medicine set up and a machine which will buzz reminders is available. Residents may wear a pendant on which they can summon help, and the pendant will also provide their location within the facility.

There are also other services. There are three meals a day including a continental breakfast delivered to the apartment and two meals in the facility dining room. Home care visits and evaluations through the occupational therapist can be arranged. Other optional services include housekeeping, transportation to appointments or special events, laundry services and support in some of the other activities of daily living like bathing or dressing.

The goal, explained Deb Porter, a registered nurse and community coordinator for assisted living, is to promote independence and enhance the quality of life of each individual. Services can be selected as they are needed.

Still, there is the sense of the apartment as a private home environment. Residents bring their own furniture and own decorating ideas. Each resident can have a pet living with them.

And of course, each resident is part of the larger community of the Villa. There are daily events that are open for anyone who wishes to participate. In July, for instance, there were several music programs including the Second Wind Harmonica Band and inspirational music from the O’Loughlins, a picnic at Scenic State Park, a township-sponsored lunch and boat ride, and trips to the Wild Rice Festival in Deer River and the North Star Stampede in Effie. One day a group took the bus to Grand Rapids to browse garage sales and have a picnic. Each week has time with kids, learning circles, bingo games, gardening and walking opportunities, and other regular events.

“They stay very busy,” said Porter.

The opportunity to socialize is an important part of the philosophy of Bigfork Valley’s assisted living program, said Grahek. The facility provides staff and the opportunities for socialization.

Sometimes the program also means that couples can remain together in the same facility although one needs a little more care. Porter recalled her own parents who had different medical needs, but could both be at Bigfork Valley under one roof, one in the nursing home and one in the Villa.

It’s an opportunity to be in a place that offers quality of life, said Porter, and still be safe and happy.