(HEATH, TX — January 8, 2018) Each year, the population of aging citizens in Rockwall County continues to grow. Fortunately, so do the options for senior living. From visiting caregivers to assisted living facilities and nursing homes, our community offers a variety of choices for quality, elder care. Finding the right solution for you or a loved one, however, may prove overwhelming – as nothing compares to living independently in the comfort of your own home.
A new concept in senior care may hold the key to finding that happy place – the perfect situation that combines all the comforts of home with 24-hour, personalized caregiving.
Low Caregiver to Resident Ratio
On January 1st, GoodLife Senior Living and Memory Care of Heath opens its doors at 126 Smirl Drive (on the northeast corner of Smirl and 549, behind Anytime Fitness). With only 16 beds in the home, the caregiver to resident ratio is about 1:7. According to GoodLife CEO Dallen Skelley, the norm in other larger facilities can be 1:27.
GoodLife caregivers are onsite day and night, with medications administered by Registered Nurses. In addition to assisted living, they offer memory care for those with Alzheimer’s, dementia or other cognitive impairments, and respite care for short-term stays.
“For many residents, this will be the last place they call home,” said Skelley. “To create the GoodLife they deserve, we fill it with new memories and experiences so they feel safe, loved, and at peace. We don’t just treat them like family; they are family.”
With 17 other GoodLife homes sprinkled throughout Texas and New Mexico, Skelley explained that the inspiration for this concept came when his great grandmother reached the age where she couldn’t be alone anymore.
“My father, Lawrence Skelley, is a licensed contractor with over 42 years of experience in developing and building subdivisions, residential and commercial buildings. He decided to build an assisted living home in Hobbs, NM, where my great grandmother could live.”
He added, “It’s kinda funny. She was a free customer – it didn’t cost her anything – so she moved around a bit because wherever there was an empty room is where she went. I think she lived in three different GoodLife homes before she passed away. She loved to cook. She raised eight boys, and it was important to her to bake her bread every week, and her freezer jam. So she’d make herself at home in the kitchen, and do her thing.”
Full-Service Amenities
Whether residents decide to cook or do their own laundry, GoodLife offers full-service amenities, including chef-prepared meals, linen service, housekeeping, and transportation. Staff can assist with bathing, toileting, oral hygiene, dressing, dining, hair and nails. Physical exercise, Bingo, art, music, gardening, and trivia help keep residents engaged. A peaceful, secure, outdoor sitting area features waterfalls, a Koi pond, and barbecue grill.
“We do everything a nursing home does except we do it better, and in a different environment,” Skelley said. “I hope as people come through our doors they can see we are a little different. People come here to age in place. We are home.”
GoodLife will open another 16-unit home on the same property in mid-January. Although both Heath homes are licensed and equipped for memory care, the second will be specifically operated for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Passion, Compassion, and Love
“One of the reasons we’re here in Heath and growing is because of the niche we found in providing personalized, private care to our residents. We’re very selective with the caregivers we hire. They must have passion, compassion, and love,” Skelley said. “We’re here for the residents – first and foremost.”
That’s why GoodLife hired Carol Overbeck as the Heath home’s Administrator. “She had heart, and we noticed that,” Skelley said.
Overbeck said she was drawn to GoodLife after caring for her father in his final years. “He was a professional calf roper, and he had a stroke while on his horse. He was paralyzed on his right side. I paid out-of-pocket caregivers to help me care for him at home, but at times I’d have to put him in rehab centers after hospital stays – and I was not happy. Now I want to make a difference in other family’s lives. I want to give seniors the attention they need and deserve. That’s my calling.”
GoodLife Senior Living and Memory Care private pay homes are available for touring. For more information, call 469-338-0538 or visit goodlifeseniorliving.com.
Sponsored article by Dawn Redig, Blue Ribbon News. GoodLife is a client of BRN Media.
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