NOT in the slow lane YET Blog

The blog is about living life after 70 with joy, resilience, and purpose. NOT in the slow lane, YET is a source of positive, helpful advice encouraging people to set and achieve goals and find joy in life. The blog will cover personal experiences and thoughts and concerns. Topics of blogs will be health, retirement, fashion, travel, and living in continuing care retirement communities. The blogs will be short and appear at least once a month on my website www.nadineblock.com or by email if you choose. Come walk with me.

I worried about giving up autonomy when I moved to a senior retirement community.

When I moved into a senior continuing care independent living apartment in 2021, I found it easy to adjust to the community and to a smaller space than I had lived in previously. I had lived in condominiums at times in the past, so I knew I would be comfortable in community living. I was enthusiastic about getting rid of “stuff.”  I could afford the entrance fee and the dues. I looked forward to giving up home maintenance and real estate taxes. I loved the idea of weekly housekeeping services and dinners I didn’t have to cook. I called my last residence “Shady Rest.”

I worried about giving up autonomy at “Shady Rest. I didn’t know if I would lose control of decisions like redecorating my unit, whether I could put a nail in the apartment wall, when they would replace dead landscape shrubs or flowers, or whether I had any input on increased dues. 

 I would not be the owner of my apartment, and I could not sell it and move on if I were unhappy.  Management wants to help residents, but is running a business, so it must control costs. Walking away from the community meant losing money and bruising my ego.

I heard about the Resident Council, a vehicle for seniors in care facilities to voice their concerns and help management with suggestions while fostering a collaborative, respectful relationship.

That seemed to give me some control over my fate. I am an optimist.

My Experience with Resident Council representation of my needs in a senior retirement community.

I have become a booster for the Residents’ Council because it is our only vehicle for voicing our concerns and helping management with suggestions in a collaborative, respectful relationship.

 Our resident council has existed here since l963 when the care facility was built. The elected council leader is called “Mayor.”  The mayor and vice mayor meet regularly with management to bring up resident concerns and suggestions and report back to residents on progress. 

My experience:

I wanted to help the community and was curious about how it worked. I ran for our resident council.  I am ending my second and last term on Council and look back on its value to the community. 

As I looked back on its history, I found examples of the Council’s work successfully resolving problems and environmental, social, and service issues. One example is management sharing operating costs with residents, which gives us a feeling of trust and transparency. 

Only once did I find that the Council was at the point of legal action on an issue.  The council sought to address administrators directly at a higher level about decisions that affected them, like meal plan costs and dues increases.  The Council and management disagreed on whether the state law required management to accept a Council representative seat on the management non-profit board.  Residents were in the process of getting legal funds together. It was resolved to the residents’ satisfaction.  Our mayor sits on the non-profit board running our organization, but only for part of a meeting, in which they can present their concerns.

Residents have raised issues about food and medical services for independent living residents, needing IT support, raising dues, road repairs, transportation, etc. Some mayors were confrontational, filing grievances when requests went unanswered.  Some preferred to work in a non-confrontational mode. 

Council oversees standing committees that benefit the community by supporting intellectual interests, wellness, creativity opportunities, literary interests, social activities, safety/maintenance concerns, and landscaping.  The council’s resident volunteers in committees help meet management’s needs. They help management extend social and environmental services, reducing the need for additional employees.    

The council’s creation of the Employee Appreciation Fund (EAP) has provided annual funds for hourly employees through resident donations.  A past mayor initiated the program when he found that hourly employees received only a $25 gift card and a frozen turkey as a Christmas gift from management.  He said, “We can do better.”  The plan he and others wrote was accepted by management.

I support our Council because it has made me feel useful. It’s provided opportunities for me to help improve the community and create a sense of belonging. It has improved our community through collaboration and cooperation with management.

It has given me a feeling of some control over my environment.  It isn’t always perfect, but every success in collaboration and cooperation is to be cheered.

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”    Warren Buffett

 

Support your resident council if you live in a continuing care retirement community.  Here is how you can help.

• Attend meetings of the resident council.
• Run for a representative in the council elections.
• Provide your concerns and recommendations in a helpful way to the council.
• Give your time and efforts to one or more committees, which benefit the committee’s work and help you contribute to your community.

You will meet new friends, feel good about your contributions, and make good use of free time in your community.  Be a booster!