When you start up a conversation with someone who’s retired, one of the first (and most surprising) things that they’ll tell you is that they feel like they’re busy all the time. For the residents at Silver Birch Living on Hanna Street, their story is no different.
Take Renee, who moved to Fort Wayne from East Chicago to be closer to family. “I need a rest day,” she said, laughing. “There’s so much going on around here! Bingo, outings, therapy—it’s like every time you turn around, something else is happening.”
She’s not exaggerating, either. Activity planning is one of the features that Silver Birch likes to highlight, and for good reason. Whether it’s Thursday’s ice cream social, a morning exercise class, or residents gathering to watch a track meet at the school across the street, the calendar stays full.
Besides being a reflection of the core values behind how Silver Birch operates, the community’s full activity calendar is evidence of a positive transformation that’s been underway for the past year.
Some changes are cosmetic, but have helped drive the overall positive shift in the mood. In late April of this year, the dust has settled and the drop cloths have been cleared away, revealing renovated hallways and shared spaces, brighter interiors, and a newly refreshed courtyard that now feels more like a true gathering place.
That courtyard is where you’re most likely to find Kathy, usually in company.
“I’ve already got my garden planned – I’ve got to go get something to put in those raised beds,” she said. “I’m gonna plant cucumbers and cherry tomatoes – I just love them. And I need a ‘do not touch’ sign too,” she joked. “Don’t mess with my cucumbers!”
It’s not just the physical spaces that have changed, either. Thanks to the support and consistent presence of regional leadership, along with a dedicated on-site team, the culture has shifted.
“I think it’s a tone thing,” said one staff member. “Over the past year or so, I’ve had a lot of prospects come in and out to tell me they feel the positive mood in the building now. They see the change. They can feel the change. The atmosphere is a totally different atmosphere, it’s great.”
Though tone starts at the top, one of the most encouraging things to see is how it doesn’t stay there. Staff ranging from the marketing director to the nursing staff are living out the company’s core values, and residents are noticing.
“I love my physical therapy,” said Kathy. “Cindy, the OT, she got me to stop using that walker and switch to my cane. And then she gave me some flowers to put out in the hall next to my garden gnomes.”
Decorations in the hall, smiling faces at bingo, people staying after the ice cream social just to chat – these and many other scenes are proof that change for the better is always a possibility.
And at Silver Birch Living, it’s more than that – it’s a reality.