Northern senior center to host housing fair

Settling into right place ‘is like finding a pair of comfortable shoes'

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN Elsie Mae and Mary Fender, residents of Cedar Lane Apartments in Leonardtown, help other volunteers put together emergency kits for seniors. Cedar Lane is one of eight senior communities participating in a senior housing expo on Friday, Nov. 13, at the Northern Senior Activity Center. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Making the transition from independent living to a senior living facility can be intimidating.

"The perception of moving to a senior community may have its challenges," said Janice Pruett, move-in coordinator for the Cedar Lane Senior Living Community in Leonardtown. It's an admission that a person needs help and can't do everything for themselves anymore as much as they wish to. "It can be trauma driven," she said, through the loss of a spouse or the onset of a serious medical condition.

But she quoted a resident of Cedar Lane who said: "We didn't move there to die, we moved there to live."

On Friday, Nov. 13, a senior housing expo is scheduled at the Northern Senior Activity Center in Charlotte Hall so families can explore the options in Southern Maryland for senior living. The housing departments and offices on aging from Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's will be there, as well as representatives from eight senior communities. Those communities are members of a larger network, now made up of 20, that came together out of necessity.

There were occupancy issues at Cedar Lane, Pruett said. Apartments weren't filled.

"I started to call around to the local senior housing facilities and asked them if they wanted to start a networking group," she said. The group then started meeting once a month to get to know what particular services each facility provides.

"It's really helpful just overall," she said. "It's been a really great resource for us."

The idea of a senior housing fair had been floating around so the "timing was perfect," Pruett said. "We're looking forward to this inaugural event and hope it grows each year."

Typically, families want to have their parents living in a facility close by and, "if you're a transplant you may not necessarily know what's out there," she said.

"Each facility serves a special niche," Pruett said. "Finding a senior community is like finding a pair of comfortable shoes — it's got to be right for you."

Cedar Lane offers senior apartments, congregate housing and assisted living. Congregate housing is for seniors who need some services, but can't afford assisted living. That program is income-based and provides two meals a day and four hours of services a week such as housekeeping, personal care and medication management.

There are other advantages to moving to a senior community, Pruett said.

"You're around people your own age who may have similar histories," she said. There is also safety. Every apartment has an emergency pull cord for residents.

Cedar Lane has a cafeteria, a church and a local pharmacy and grocery store make deliveries there bringing food and medicine. "Everything you need you can get on site," Pruett said. It's a self-sustaining community.

Some people choose to stay in their own room, but others blossom into the community, she said. "You can choose to be as active as you want," she said. Some residents still work. Some still drive, and many volunteer their services elsewhere like at the department of aging.

Cedar Lane is made up of three buildings, for a total of 208 apartments. The occupancy rate is at 90 percent with 190 residents, Pruett said.

"We do not have a two- to three-year wait list. Our wait list is minimal. It depends on what type of apartment you're looking for," she said.

With the baby boom generation getting grayer, the trends indicate more senior housing and services will be needed nationwide. But St. Mary's is in a different situation. "We have one of the lowest median ages in the state," Pruett said.

However, more senior housing opportunities will be needed. The St. Mary's County commissioners approved a concept plan in February 2007 for 310 senior homes on 43 acres behind the Northern Senior Activity Center. The housing would be a mix of cottages, apartments and assisted living, in addition to a multigenerational center and an indoor swimming pool open to the public.

While the concept plan was approved, it is not in the construction budget.

"It's on our shelf right now waiting to see if public water and sewer ever happens" there in Charlotte Hall, said Phil Rollins, director of the department of recreation and parks. Such dense housing would need public sewer service.

jbabcock@somdnews.com

If you go

The senior housing expo will be held on Friday, Nov. 13, from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Northern Senior Activity Center, 29655 Charlotte Hall Road in Charlotte Hall. The event is free and visitors can register to win a 32-inch flat panel television. Those who bring a donation of non-perishable food for the Southern Maryland Food Bank will also be entered for other prizes.

Facilities present will be: Morningside House of St. Charles, The Hermitage at St. John's Creek, Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, Southwinds Active Adult Community, Lexington Park Adult Community, CCNRC Family of Care, Cedar Lane Senior Living Community and Fenwick Landing Senior Care Community.