Walnut Village: Home Sweet Home
Long Term Care
Written by Meghan Flynn   
Sunday, 01 November 2009
Walnut Village: Home Sweet Home
The team at this CCRC supports seniors living active and fulfilling lives through communication and collaboration in developing creative programming and amenities.
Premier Business Partners:

Intelisyn
Steve Wolff & Associates, Inc.
No sectors of the healthcare industry are changing as quickly as assisted living, skilled nursing, and long term care. One option rising in popularity is CCRCs, which frequently have independent, assisted, and skilled nursing services on one campus with many other amenities, but Front Porch took the concept a step further with its newest property: Walnut Village in Anaheim, Calif.

Executive director Joe Peduzzi explained that at Walnut Village, residents age in place, meaning if their care needs increase over time, the company can usually bring the care to them instead of moving them to another unit.

Walnut Village: Home Sweet Home
Joe Peduzzi, executive director
“That was a very strong selling point for our residents,” said Peduzzi. “We offer a long-term, hassle-free solution for seniors worried about the future and a vibrant, exciting community to be a part of in this next phase of their lives.”

The idea of Walnut Village started in 2004; the campus opened this fall. Peduzzi said more than 40 units are already occupied, and so far, the company has exceeded every expectation. Private homes are available in 42 different floor plans, including one- and two-bedroom residences and three-bedroom cottages.

The campus also includes a Wellbeing Fitness and Aquatics Center, a Lifelong Learning Center, The Grove restaurant, and a village square with a beauty and barbershop, library, art studio, sundries shop, lounge, and bistro. This spring, the Performing Art Center will open, providing an elegant facility for theater productions and other events that the outside community will be able to attend as well. This design recently won a prestigious gold award from the National Association of Home Builders 50+ Housing Council.

A memory support neighborhood called Summer House has a staff of memory support caregivers who offer assisted care and individualized programming for those with varying degrees of memory loss.

Peduzzi said the company aims to not just provide skilled nursing care and security for its residents, but create a stimulating community. All of the buildings are adorned with works from local artists, many of which were created especially for the village.

“It doesn’t feel like a retirement community. Our residents tell us it feels like a resort, and that’s exactly what we we’re aiming for,” said Peduzzi. “Our attention to detail and emphasis on creative and exciting programs truly set us apart.”

Among the many programs at Walnut Village, residents can sign up for group cooking, language, and art classes. Peduzzi said in the next few months the village will be offering a computer skills series, launching a Spanish class, and hosting a local travel agency’s series on exotic destinations around the world.

One of the most popular destinations within the village is the Red Chair Lounge, a piano bar that Patricia Estis, director of sales and marketing, said exemplifies the Walnut Village mission to create an exciting new chapter in the lives of its residents.

The company knew it needed to include some kind of nightlife venue in the village, but instead of building a generic pub, it asked the residents what special features they would like to see. Most replied with a simple request: make it a piano bar. Thus, the Red Chair Lounge has piano music most nights, and Estis said, frequently, residents are singing and dancing, thrilled to have exactly what they wanted.

But the collaborative process didn’t end there. “Early in the planning process, we created a hospitality committee made up of our first registered residents. This committee met monthly to review surveys we received from newer residents about what kind of events of trips they are interested in. Then we planned those trips for anyone interested, in effect, creating a community of people before the physical community existed,” she said.

The group traveled to museums, shows, and lectures among other trips, so on move-in day, most of the residents already knew their neighbors. Estis said it was like coming home instead of moving somewhere new and unfamiliar.

Taking action
When the economy fell apart barely a year before Walnut Village would finally open, many residents were concerned about their financial standing and whether they would, after all that time, be able to afford their new home. But Estis and her team jumped into action.

Walnut Village aided residents through a real estate advisory program that helped them sell their homes. Financial advisors were available to review any resident’s situation, show them how they could afford an accommodation at Walnut Village, and, in some cases, help them downsize to a more affordable option.

In addition, Walnut Village hosted a vendors’ event a few months before move-in. After interviewing all the major movers, utilities providers, realtor firms, and other important service providers in the area, the company invited the best to a conference. Residents could walk around and collect information, talk with representatives, and compare prices on the spot with the support of the Walnut Village staff.

“We wanted to be there for our residents every step of the way on this exciting but sometimes intimidating journey into the next phase of their life,” said Peduzzi. “And most importantly, we want to do everything we can to allow our residents to live life their way.”
 
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