Koelsch Senior Living Communities and the 2020 Discovery Conference

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following is a podcast from a qualified senior care provider part on the answers for elders radio show. And welcome everyone to answers for alders radio. And we are here with some brand new guests today, some two very wonderful friends of mine. It’s kind of a treat to have you both in the office with me today, but I have Cheryld Gunther and Terry Wilson, both from Kelt senior living communities. Welcome, ladies, to the program thank you, thanks for having us. I’m really glad you’re both here because you know we both have friendships that go way back and from separate paths and where and you weave, you kind of converge together, and you know it’s no doubt that you know when you see people of both of your caliber, that I know and that you’ve joined forces with an organization like Kelt senior living. You know that’s really exciting and it certainly gets my attention and I’ve learned a lot about celt communities in the last couple of years and yet you guys have been around for a while. So welcome to the show. Thank you, Susan, and I’m really excited because you guys are. We are big supporters and will be part, one of the sponsors again of the discovery conference that will be in the Linwood Convention Center on April first and obviously with you guys. The great thing about it is is that you will have an opportunity to really experience, you know, all of the people coming and you’ll be, I’m sure, a lot in a lot of the programs this year. Tell us a little bit about how you’re involved, sure. So this year Kel senior communities is the presenting sponsor, so we’re really, really excited about that. We’ve been working with Karen Wilson from the Alzheimers Association Office which is in Lynwood, and we’re going to have a fantastic booth and really great raffle prizes and we’re going to be able to show people who calsh is, where we have our communities, and we’re also going to be able to introduce to all the guests and participants Benjamin Sir me, who is the social gerontologist for Kel senior communities and he is fantastic to listen to. That’s amazing. He’s amazing and what he does for seniors and his passion for seniors for Helse it just it resonates and he will be speaking on our new humanitude is rolling out the set us apart and to take care of our seniors in the better. You know, the statistics on Alzheimer’s disease is overwhelming and this is why we spend so much time on the show talking about it. And you guys, you specialize in memory care, which obviously a lot of our listeners don’t. They may have heard the term before, but they don’t necessarily understand specifically what memory care is. How does it interact with you know, why is it important with those that are afflicted with Alzheimer’s? Memory care is specially designed and Kelch has quite a focus program around caring for seniors. Not only are they seniors, but they have dementia or a form of one. Of the hundred and seventy dimensions are programs from health and wellness to our dual programming activities, to our we have a seven nurse on site and that is something calch’s very proud of. I don’t our medications are only given by our nurses. So it sets US apart. It sets people from returning to the hospital. We really go the extra mile for our residents. and that goes back to Aaron and Judy’s vision of working with the demand. And are actually Judy’s are the founders? Correct? His parents? Uh Huh. You want to talk about Emma? Sure, I would love to, so you just jump in. So Aaron’s Aaron and Judy’s parents. So Aaron Kelch, his parents are Alice and Emma to Kelch. And in one thousand nine hundred and fifty eight they built their first long term care, or the first, I think we would say it’s now assisted living. Is that caliber of cares, in one thousand nineteen fifty eight in wow, Washington. So just imagine that. One thousand nine hundred and fifty eight you’ve got this old nursing home that’s really about to follow their under standards. Yeah, right, and vacated are sing right, and they raise their family. They did. Sarah, yes, was the baby and started the first is right in the state of Washington. So M at analysis vision for seniors was far beyond that is amazing and now colches in several states and obviously you guys have have worked to to really build a program for those that have not only mobility issues or need assistance in their activities of daily living, but you also have the specialty and working with Alzheimer’s, and I think that’s really amazing. I know I’ve been to your property, Terry over and Admins, and it’s amazing and certainly there’s so much attention to you know. I mean you’ve got a classic car sitting there in the middle of the lobby and different things like that. We tells a little bit about the ambience, right, and that’s yeah, that’s really important and that was important to Emmett and to Alice is that they they needed to have, you know, items, the setting, the environment that could be relatable to the people that are living in their community. So having that vintage car was really really important. Absolutely, it’s relatable. Yeah, and I may’s like such a really great talking point when it’s also community term memory when someone has to Menor Alzheimer’s, you know, even like the towards the beginning stages. I know that for sure what happens in many cases is that they will remember things, least in the earlier stages, things that happen, you know, twenty thirty years ago. And yet it’s the short term stuff, it’s the things that they’re going to ask you the same question over and over again or you know, they’ll have these outrageous mood swings out of nowhere because of the anxiety and the different things like that. So having things that they can ground back to that they feel comfort because in many cases, isn’t that true that they kind of live in that and you know in the older where they feel most comfortable, where their memories are more. Yeah, like the ladies in the cooking in their s. We have the s kitchen where our residents bake cookies. And of the car isn’t a car truck is in every property that calch owns. But what sets is apart with Cedar Creek and now with Jefferson House coming, is our entire decorations are in their day and time. Reminiscence is huge, N A mention brain. So we don’t decorate for the adult children with Chandeliers and fansy. No, we decorate for our residence. Absolutely, they are constantly in a state of reminiscence. So we are talking again with Cheryl Gunther and Terry Wilson, both from Kelch communities. And Sheryl, you are the new executive director. Right. That will be coming at the brand new Jefferson House in Kirkland. Right, tell us a little bit about your right. Right. So Jefferson House in Kirkland is all memory care and if you’ve been to city creek and Edmonds you will see that our building is pretty well identical to the model, which is an ass ere week. So we’ll have a total of sixty apartments. Some are private apartments, semi private neighbor apartments and we have some beautiful what we call tower suites. So a little bit for whatever the need is for memory care and we’re very excited to open Jefferson House. We have our grand opening scheduled just around the corner for April twenty three. Wow, looking forward to having the mayor of Kirkland there and the city and the Chamber and so you know, it’s so needed, especially, you know, I know in the Kirkland area and Redmon and all that stuff. So many parents come here because their son or daughter works for Microsoft and there hasn’t been a lot of properties in the past and correct, but it’s starting. And you guys, you have communities up and down pretty much greater puge of sound, right, right, yeah, we have thirteen communities in the state of Washington and several communities in construction under development. So we have Bellevue, both the INN at Belle harbor and the park at Bell Harbor, Jefferson House, which is getting ready to open. We have deer Ridge and pulap Washington. because she ill can’t say it right, she’s Canadian. We give her pass here. Yeah, it’s that’s excigning for chryls property at Jefferson House, CALCI’s vision, hmm, with the Madison House, which is assisted living and independent and that’s right next doors. It is like a campus. So yeah, we can offer as calch senior on the east side, a continuum of care. That’s awesome. Yeah, it’s very we’re all very and so, Terry, you are up at Cedar Creek in my neck of the woods and Edmonds. So tell us a little bit about Cedar Creek Memory Care. It’s like, first of all, nothing that anyone has ever participated in our scene. It’s true. We are very home of managers and staff that are extremely passionate about caring for seniors. Our staff, including our housekeepers and our cooks, everyone is in chryls will be the same, fully trained in dementia and that’s an ongoing imporcation. We don’t hire just CNA’s or nurses. They have their specially in dementia, because it is it’s a whole separate special it really is. And I think the other thing too, is is that you know families out there there listening. They probably there’s a lot of them out there. I’m sure that may have a loved one that is starting. You’re starting to see some signs and you don’t necessarily know how to deal with that. You don’t know how to respond, you don’t know how to you know how do you best support your loved one, and one of the things that I know about your your organization is you’ll support families even before that time comes. You know, you could keep somebody could call and ask you questions right now, couldn’t they? Absolutely and both of us have ongoing monthly Educational Dementia Specialty Education Forums where the public is invited. We that is so important. We want to get this out to help people and I always say if I would have known then what I know now, I would have done a lot of things difference. So you guys are going to be at the Discovery Conference and we have about a minute left. Tell us about the discovery conference. And how do we reach you guys there? Where you going to be? Sure? So we’re going to be in the hallway just outside the Exhibit Room, Uh Huh. And so as you’re coming around to register, you’ll see our table, will have our banners there. You’ll take Kelly senior communities with Jefferson House and see the creek and all of our other sister communities. And what else is they’re going to be there, Terry? Oh, we’re going to it’s going to be a fun interactive booth or people are going to get to enjoy us. But get to know couch as well as good to know, and you know that’s so important. And but get to know who we are. And you know, I would love for you guys to stay a little bit more and let’s just open the hid a little bit in our next segment and learn a little bit about about colch kind of a little bit more delve into history and really understand a little bit about your commitment to puget sound. In the meantime, how do we reach you guys? Sure, so you can reach me at Jefferson House. My phone number is four to five, four hundred and two zero D and eighty two and that’s Sheryl and that Ryl at Jefferson House, and I’m Terry Wilson at Seder Creek memory care in Edmonds. You can reach us at four to five, six seven eight eight zero zero one. And if you should need to contact calch senior communities, we are headquartered in Olympia and that number is three hundred and six zero, eight, hundred and sixty seven one nine zero zero. And our website is helch senior COMMUNITYCOM. That’s awesome. Hey, guess whatever they learn, Ryl and Terry will be right back. Answers for elders radio show with Susan Newman hopes you found this podcast useful in your journey of navigating senior care. Check out more podcast like this to help you find qualified senior care experts and areas of financial, legal, health and wellness and living options. 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