Senior Citizens Find Area Facilities a Great Place to Call Home
assisted living, health care, seniors,
Relaxing in a rocking chair is a popular pastime at Carolina House of Smithfield but so is doing yoga, gardening and going shopping with friends.
While Carolina House offers both assisted living and a memory-care unit, the residents enjoy a wide selection of optional activities that keep them engaged and as active as they want to be.
“We do have a lot of life-enrichment activities,” says Melanie Uenoyama, director of the facility that is home to 64 residents with an average age of 82. “Most of our residents are very mobile – they’re active and involved.”
While one team of assistants provides help with daily concerns, from grooming to keeping track of medication, other staff members – known as life enrichment coordinators – look out for residents’ social, recreational and cultural well-being.
“We have art teachers who come once a week, yoga, all kinds of music and a variety of religious programming,” Uenoyama says.
Local student volunteers come in to help out with pet therapy, gardening and other activities.
Every Wednesday, residents who so desire may visit the shopping mall or another destination before having lunch in an area restaurant.
“It’s a different one each week,” Uenoyama adds.
Those who want a more independent lifestyle – but with an added layer of service and convenience – may find it at SummerWind Plantation. The neighborhood, under construction just off of Interstate 40 East in Clayton, is an active-adult community with housing options ranging from condos to single-family homes.
SummerWind is one of several projects built by Parker Development Group in the Triangle area. This community will have a golf course, fishing pond and wellness center and the opportunity for residents to receive in-home services, such as housekeeping, cooking and delivery of groceries. An assisted-living facility is also on the drawing board.
Yet another interesting housing choice for seniors is the opportunity to live inside a historic Clayton landmark. The former Cleveland School has been turned into 25 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The original 1927 building was redesigned to serve older residents with limited incomes, yet the units have luxury touches, including 12-foot ceilings and original pine floors.
Demand for senior housing is on the rise, with many newcomers moving to Johnston County to be closer to their children and grandchildren, Uenoyama says.
“A lot have had the big homes, and maintenance has become a lot for them,” she says. “They’re ready for a place where they don’t have to worry about those kinds of things.”
No matter what living arrangement they choose, all seniors have access to the eight senior centers scattered across the county, operated by the Johnston County Council on Aging.
Jaime Pearce, who visits the centers regularly in her role as health coordinator for the Johnston County Health Department, says seniors enjoy socializing over meals at the centers, where they also find recreational activities and educational programs on tap.
Pearce says the latest health-related program to gain popularity is Be Silver Striders, a new club that brings together older residents who share an interest in walking.
Story by Renee Elder
