Every family faces the moment when we must consider the future of our aging loved ones; it's a journey filled with emotion and critical decisions. That's why I sat down with Megan Kopstad of Blue Heron Senior Living, who brought an abundance of warmth and wisdom to our discussions on elder care. Together, we peeled back the curtain on the transition processes into assisted living, sharing the compassionate approach that ensures the dignity and comfort of residents, and the vibrant life that awaits them within these communities.
Megan and I didn't just talk shop; we celebrated the hobbies and passions that enrich our lives. She painted a vivid picture of her world, from the therapeutic strokes of a paintbrush to the joyous wag of her Rottweiler mix Ray's tail, illustrating the balance between work and personal fulfillment. We also acknowledged the undeniable spark that therapy dogs bring to senior living, fostering intergenerational connections and highlighting the beautiful simplicities that life offers, regardless of age.
Wrapping up our heartfelt exchange, I offered a glimpse into the leadership ethos that guides Blue Heron Senior Living. With a strong, inclusive community at its core, we discussed the importance of guiding families through their decision-making journey without pressure, and the cultural heartbeat of our facility—where live music and happy hours are just a slice of the spirited life we champion. Join us for this intimate exploration into senior living and the incredible individuals dedicating their lives to this special chapter of growth and warmth.
Blue Heron Senior Living is committed to restoring our residents to their highest potential through kind, compassionate medical care and uplifting lifestyles. We believe those who live well, are well. Recognizing that living well means something different to everyone, we have created an all-encompassing community that empowers residents to live their best lives no matter what their needs may be.
At Blue Heron Senior Living, there are four distinct lifestyle communities within our one very special community: Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing Care, and Rapid-Rehabilitation. Call Lilly Gonzalez, Community Relations Director at (352) 467-0238 or Meagan Kopstad, Executive Director at (352) 534-1408 for more information!
Every family faces the moment when we must consider the future of our aging loved ones; it's a journey filled with emotion and critical decisions. That's why I sat down with Megan Kopstad of Blue Heron Senior Living, who brought an abundance of warmth and wisdom to our discussions on elder care. Together, we peeled back the curtain on the transition processes into assisted living, sharing the compassionate approach that ensures the dignity and comfort of residents, and the vibrant life that awaits them within these communities.
Megan and I didn't just talk shop; we celebrated the hobbies and passions that enrich our lives. She painted a vivid picture of her world, from the therapeutic strokes of a paintbrush to the joyous wag of her Rottweiler mix Ray's tail, illustrating the balance between work and personal fulfillment. We also acknowledged the undeniable spark that therapy dogs bring to senior living, fostering intergenerational connections and highlighting the beautiful simplicities that life offers, regardless of age.
Wrapping up our heartfelt exchange, I offered a glimpse into the leadership ethos that guides Blue Heron Senior Living. With a strong, inclusive community at its core, we discussed the importance of guiding families through their decision-making journey without pressure, and the cultural heartbeat of our facility—where live music and happy hours are just a slice of the spirited life we champion. Join us for this intimate exploration into senior living and the incredible individuals dedicating their lives to this special chapter of growth and warmth.
Blue Heron Senior Living is committed to restoring our residents to their highest potential through kind, compassionate medical care and uplifting lifestyles. We believe those who live well, are well. Recognizing that living well means something different to everyone, we have created an all-encompassing community that empowers residents to live their best lives no matter what their needs may be.
At Blue Heron Senior Living, there are four distinct lifestyle communities within our one very special community: Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing Care, and Rapid-Rehabilitation. Call Lilly Gonzalez, Community Relations Director at (352) 467-0238 or Meagan Kopstad, Executive Director at (352) 534-1408 for more information!
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Mike Sedita.
Speaker 2:
Hello out there and welcome to episode 165 of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, Mike Sedita, and today we have the pleasure of being joined by the executive director of Blue Heron Senior Living, Megan Kopstad. Megan, how are you doing today?
Speaker 3:
Hello, I'm doing great. How are you?
Speaker 2:
I am doing fantastic. It is a lovely day outside and I am so happy to have you here. I love your facility. I've been there not for me as a resident, but for a family member as a resident. It is like a beautiful hotel tucked away in Wesley Chapel and I'm excited to talk to you about it, just so you know what the Good Neighbor podcast is and so people listening kind of get an idea. The Good Neighbor podcast was started in 2020.
Speaker 2:
Back when you were kicking residents out of assisted living facilities because we didn't want them in there, we were locking everybody in and we had to be socially distant. Facilities because we didn't want them in there, we were locking everybody in and we had to be socially distant. It was a way for businesses like you guys to get your message to the community and still be socially distant. And the nice thing is we're doing this. You're in the comfort of your office in Wesley Chapel, I'm in the comfort of my studio here in Tampa Palms. We can do this socially distant, get the message out there.
Speaker 2:
And then the nice thing is, over the last four years, the Good Neighbor podcast has blown up Like we have Good Neighbor podcasts in Atlanta, denver, philadelphia, a bunch in Ohio and Florida. So I'm lucky enough to be the person here in the Tampa market that gets to talk to folks like you. So, with that said, tell us a little bit about Blue Heron. I don't want to say senior living, I want to say Blue Heron Hotel, slash Hilton. But tell us a little bit about Blue Heron.
Speaker 3:
Taj Mahal of Blue Heron Taj.
Speaker 2:
Mahal of senior living.
Speaker 3:
Well, thank you for having me on, and just so you know, we will always have a room open for you if you ever decide to come to Blue Heron, it's coming closer, it's becoming more to come to Blue Heron.
Speaker 2:
It's coming closer, it's becoming more. It's getting closer than I hoped it would be, but I'm very familiar.
Speaker 3:
You don't have to worry about utilities or taking out the garbage or doing any outdoor chores, but Blue Heron Senior Living is a 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year community for our older adults who deserve, you know, just the exuberant amount of respect, dignity, care, happiness, joy.
Speaker 3:
You know every friendship, community, everything that we can bring towards these adults while they go through this next journey in life.
Speaker 3:
You know, one thing that we often talk about is, you know, no resident really wakes up and is like yep, I'm, you know, selling my house and moving into that assisted living today. You know, no one's truly genuinely excited about it. But that's something that we're able to change and we're able to change that mindset. So Blue Heron does have different service lines where our residents are able to live well in our assisted living side of our community, which is 95, which is 73 apartments. They're able to live safely in our memory care community, which is 22 apartments. They're able to get stronger in our rapid rehab and then they're also able to live comfortably in our long-term care section of our community. So the community really allows for the continuum of care and the ability to age in place where a resident can start in our assisted living and if they need to make that transition to memory care or need to make the transition to long-term care, we have all of those services available under one roof.
Speaker 2:
You know, I think, having been a person who took care of my parents as they got older and when they passed away and the different options that are out there, I can tell you as a caregiver it's extremely scary, uncertain time. It was for my parents, but it also is for the caregiver, because understanding what long-term care is versus memory care, versus assisted living, you know, and all the acronyms, the ALF and the LTC, and so being being in this, I mean you do this day to day is that one of the tougher. Tougher things, like really getting people up to speed to understand what actually is available, what assistance they may have, like I'll give you. For me, my dad came and you guys are nestled in a beautiful little location. You're basically a stone's throw to Baycare, um, probably a javelin throw to Advent Health, and then coming very soon is Orlando Health, which is going to be right around the corner. So you almost have like a feeder system right into your rehab section and that's how my dad got there, from Advent to there.
Speaker 2:
But do you have teams of people? Now? This is kind of a leading question, because I went through it, so I know. But do you have teams of people Now? This is kind of a leading question, because I went through it so I know. But you have teams of people that actually on the intake, when someone comes in, kind of sets them up and explains to them the process, right.
Speaker 3:
Yes, on both sides of our campus. So if someone is coming for rehab services, we have our intake admissions department. That really is the first step in the first line of communication with the resident, with the family, you know.
Speaker 3:
Same with coming to rehab. You know, no one wakes up and it's like, yep, I'm going to that nursing home for therapy like I wish I could go home. So you know, having our team as the front line to be able to explain okay, you know our therapy process. You're here to get stronger. You know you're not at a level that's safe to go home just yet, but that's what we're here for. We're here, you know, as a stepping stone to be able to get you to that next level of care and do it safely and effectively with our trained clinicians.
Speaker 2:
So I watched. I mean I lived in Seven Oaks. I mean I've watched that facility be built. It's beautiful. I drove past it every day on my way to the gym, you know. So I know that area very, very well, can you? I mean from your background? I mean you how long? What is your personal journey? Did you start in the medical side or in the business side? How do you end up as the executive director of Blue Heron?
Speaker 3:
Well, so part of me I always knew that I wanted to work with geriatrics. I've always just thought they were just some of the sweetest, just had the most amount of wisdom, and like I never really got into the pediatric side of things, it's always been about older adults for me, they're both diapers, it's just different kind of diapers.
Speaker 3:
But you know, it's just there's. There's just something about older adults. And so it was actually. I'm a graduate of the University of South Florida and it was actually an advisor there. On my interest sheet I had circled both gerontology and business administration and it was the advisor at USF that said, you know, why not do long-term care administration? And I had been fortunate enough.
Speaker 3:
You know, no one in my family had ever, you know, experienced assisted living at that time or, you know, rehab. So I really didn't know anything about this world. I hate to say that I kind of had a little bit of a negative connotation of you know what that environment would be like and what that community would be like. And so, you know, once I took my first class at USF on intro to aging studies and getting enrolled in the healthcare administration program there, you know, everything just changed from there. And then in my last semester I did my internship at a skilled nursing facility, which is like the rapid rehab plus long-term care. And you know, once I did the internship I was like you know, this is, this is what I'm meant to do, this is where I'm meant to serve. And you know, now I come to work and it's like I'm seeing 200 of my grandparents and I'm just. I'm living every day as happy as can be, so.
Speaker 2:
So what do you think? What do you think was the negative, like the negative connotation in your mind ahead of you? I'm just thinking that, like you put old people in a closet and left them there.
Speaker 3:
You know one of the things that, especially nursing homes, you know when you hear that word, and especially in the media, you know most times it's associated with something negative. And you know poor care and you know sleepy residents in front of a TV, and so you know, senior living sometimes has that connotation. I like to reference one of my favorite movies is the movie Up with the old man and the balloons, carl. And there's a scene in the movie where there's, you know, two gentlemen that are coming from I think it's like Shady Oaks Retirement Village or something, and even to Carl, he would rather risk, you know, blowing up hundreds of balloons and flying away than possibly go to this retirement village.
Speaker 3:
So you know, I think our society just kind of automatically associates, okay, assisted living or senior living. You know it's it's a limited, independent. You know they're not able to do, you know whatever they want. But it's so much more than that. I mean our residents. They go to Tampa Bay Rays games, they go to the Columbia restaurant and eboard, they go to USF basketball games. You know, like the skies is truly the limit here at Blue Heron, and for our residents and hopefully for their families too.
Speaker 2:
They just go to Columbia at like 3.30 in the afternoon.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, it's just a little bit of a way, but they haven't explored the Ybor nightlife.
Speaker 2:
They're usually in bed before the Ybor nightlife takes off. So the big thing I think for people to understand, which I want to talk a little bit about and you could maybe shed some light on it, is understanding the process. So, like I don't know, there's not really a garden variety process, but like for my dad example was he came into the rapid rehab. They did a rehab but you guys didn't have a bed available. He wasn't at the level of assisted living or ALF. He wasn't at that level because he couldn't be independent. He needed a little more care. So he did need LTC or long-term care, but you guys didn't have a bed available to him, so we had to find another location. So is that kind of not to be morbid with this, but I mean there is attrition in the facility. You're going to work with 200 grandparents but because of the nature of the whole situation, you're losing people. Is it just a timing thing for those beds to be available when somebody's there and when the timing opens up?
Speaker 3:
It is, you know, sometimes with both our long-term and memory care. You know, unfortunately no one has this, this globe that can see into the future and see. You know, okay, in two months I'm going to have a bed available. You know it's truly based on, you know, each individual and how they're progressing, you know, in this journey of life and so you know a lot of it is based on on that and that availability. Now, I don't know if you've seen, but we are doing an expansion on our nursing side, so that will be an additional 35 beds which will be able to accommodate more long-term care residents, more rehab residents, because, you know, in this community, especially you know, wesley Chapel, but there's nothing quite like us here and the need for long-term care beds is only going to rise, you know, as our baby boomer generation, you know, starts to hit those ages.
Speaker 2:
So let's see how well educated I am having gone through. This Person is sick, injured in the hospital, comes to Blue Heron in rapid you know rapid rehab. They get better but they really can't go home and be in their home alone anymore. But they're still self-sufficient enough that they can live independently. That person then go, and this is. Beds are available at every level. They then now could transfer to Blue Heron assisted living and live in your alf that's option one.
Speaker 2:
Option two is like my dad's situation. If a bed was available he could then go from rehab right into long-term care because he needs a little more hands-on therapy and help and not really therapy, because once you go into those sides right, the therapy kind of goes away and then the memory care is like the next level of like. Those are generally locked down right, like people might leave, and there's more security for memory care. It's a little bit more. It's a smaller group because it's a little more intense. I guess for lack of a better term.
Speaker 3:
So with with our memory care community, we can have residents that are, you know, more physically able, but yes, they tend to be, you know, maybe exit seeking, but truthfully, it can also be from a safety standpoint. If they don't know how to use a call light or use a pendant, then they're not going to know. Okay, I have to use the restroom, you know, let me press my call light or let me press my pendant. So you know that can be. We can have somebody completely independent but still in our memory care community needing those services. You know, oftentimes I feel like people hear, you know, sometimes what we see on the rehab side is, you know they're like, oh, my loved one needs long term care and it's, you know, not necessarily. You know they can function in an assisted living and function at that level. So, you know, just even trying to get an understanding of what does long term care truly mean, and you know that I would say is probably one of the biggest kind of hurdle conversations that we sometimes have to have with families.
Speaker 2:
And then the other part of it too is there's a whole other level to this. That's the care and the medicine part of it too is there's a whole other level to this. That's the care and the medicine side of it. But then there's the whole other side of it of the Medicare, medicaid covered, you know, doing like trusts to make sure those things are covered, like there's all sorts of stuff that goes along.
Speaker 2:
That is kind of scary for the caregiver of stuff that goes along. That is kind of scary for the caregiver. You guys have people in-house that walk people through the process on that side as well, correct?
Speaker 3:
Yes, so we have our business office team, our two representatives from our business office. They're able to have those conversations and, you know, when it comes to a Medicaid application, that's something you know that our community can assist with in helping the families do. Or we can refer out to Medicaid specialists, people who you know are familiar with doing that, and you know that's when there's like trust that you can, you know, put money into and then that protects the assets a little bit. So you know we definitely have the resources and support to be able to, you know, walk a family through. That that's, you know, whenever I always try and take as much time with families, especially if this is their first time in assisted living or in, you know, skilled nursing, because it is such a learning curve, you know you're just kind of, you know, thrown into it.
Speaker 2:
No one actually, you know, I'll say proactively, plans for you know situations to happen, so you know I'll say proactively plans for you know situations to happen, so you know, that's, that's you know.
Speaker 2:
And then there's the other part of it, the the practical, day-to-day side of it, and this is just my experience. I'm not saying everybody's like this. My dad had some memory issues but every time I would come to now he's been in since I've lived in tampa five years. He passed away last year but he he was in probably like six different facilities because he would fall and issue and all this stuff. Now the places are beautiful. Blue Heron is beautiful. He's been in other places that are very nice.
Speaker 2:
Not every level of care is the same, but if you asked my dad to be like the Siskel and Ebert of reviewing facilities, everybody got a thumbs down. Everybody was like tying him to the bed, everybody like no matter what. So part of it as a caregiver that's difficult is going in and trying to assess what's real versus what's imagined and gauge the facility and try to understand really what's going on. So with people with dementia or a form of alzheimer's, that their memory isn't right or, and especially at that age, grandma and grandpa is great, but when grandma and grandpa is in a bad mood, like they take it out on the caregiver. So it's nice to be able to have that dialogue with the staff to sift through and truly understand what's going on, and that was very nice when I was there doing that. So, all right, that's Blue Heron. All right, we've recovered it. Let's talk Heron All right, we've recovered it. Let's talk about Megan, all right. So you went to USF. How long have you been the ED at Blue Heron?
Speaker 3:
Since September of 2022. I had actually started with Blue Heron as the assistant executive director in December of 2020. So I was here before the building even took its first residence, still in the construction phase. So you know, that was definitely a learning experience for me. But we didn't take our first assisted living resident until June of 21. So for those six months without any residents, I was going stir crazy. You know that's that's those are the individuals you know, you know.
Speaker 3:
So, finally, when we, when we started and we were finally able to take residence you know it was it was such a beautiful thing and now you know, to see it almost three years in, to see it come to full fruition and to see, you know, the residents and the community it's. It's something that's true. Like I, I I truly mean it when I say I love coming to work every single day.
Speaker 2:
OK. So I always like to ask people we've talked about what you do and how long you've been there and what you enjoy. You can clearly see, if you're watching this, the smile on your face when you talk about it. Clearly you enjoy it when you're not there. I mean, I'm trying to think of a whole bunch of old people. References Like do you like to eat like soft food? Do you like to play chess? Do you like to play like I'm a big cribbage fan.
Speaker 3:
I like cribbage.
Speaker 2:
Are you a knitter? Do you like to knit sweaters?
Speaker 3:
When I was younger, my grandmother taught us all how to knit and so I can kind of knit. She was very big with washcloths we probably have like 500 washcloths in our house but so I did learn how to knit from my grandmother. But I have a very sweet dog. Her name is Ray Tampa Bay Rays Ray from Star Wars, ray of Sunshine. Ray Tampa Bay Rays.
Speaker 2:
Ray from Star Wars, ray of Sunshine. There's so many things there, time out we have to pause there for a second. So Ray of Sunshine means you know, you're like that frou-frou-y like you know spiritual thing. Tampa Bay Rays means you're a baseball fan and Ray from Star Wars means you're a nerd. You're a Star Wars nerd, so you cover all the bases, you sew and you knit and you play Parcheesi or Canasta. So do you do anything from like this?
Speaker 1:
millennia, do you like to?
Speaker 2:
go on TikTok.
Speaker 3:
Do you do anything? I'm actually not on TikTok, you know, I never really got into that trend, but so you know, typically I just enjoy spending time outdoors. I love kayaking, I love just, you know, even the other weekend I went with my dog, ray, and we went to Bayshore and just kind of walked Bayshore. So really, you know, spending time outdoors being with my dog, being with my family, and then one kind of unique thing that I do is I am not creative at all. I'm more of like a, I'll say, analytical numbers kind of, obviously. But one thing that I do is I do paint by numbers. Yeah, so you're an artist.
Speaker 2:
You're using numbers to be an artist.
Speaker 3:
Exactly, I'm not creative Like I can't. If you handed me a blank canvas, I would draw a stick figure and a sun in a corner.
Speaker 3:
you know, but it's coming down on the same way, but with paint by numbers. You know it's just some, something as simple as you. Just. You know you're you're coloring within the lines, and so you know sometimes the end results. You know it's just something as simple as you. Just, you know you're coloring within the lines and so you know sometimes the end results. You know, I know people might laugh and say, well, I did paint by numbers when I was a kid and you know. But some of the quality that it turns out, it's like people don't even guess that it's paint by numbers. So that's something that it just kind of helps ease my mind that you know I can spend hours doing that.
Speaker 2:
I have just kind of helps ease my mind that you know I can spend hours doing that. So I have so many questions. I have so many questions. Now, number one what kind of dog is ray.
Speaker 3:
She is a rottweiler mix, so she's a big dog. Yes, what does?
Speaker 2:
she weigh she's about 75 pounds oh 75, and is she sweet, or is she?
Speaker 3:
no, no, she's, she's very sweet. That's like one thing when we went to Bayshore. You know she just wants people to pet her and love on her and so if people didn't pet her she got sad. But you know she does have. I will say she's very good guard dog. So if she hears, you know, if someone knocks on my door, she kind of goes crazy. Or if she hears you know some rustling in our backyard, she gets you know on the defense. You know, I kind of appreciate that about her.
Speaker 2:
You guys have a program there. So, like I've had English Bulldogs you can see Norman in my picture there I've had a couple. That one was an actual therapy dog, certified to go into hospitals. So do you guys do that? Do you bring dogs in? Is Ray able to come into the facility?
Speaker 3:
Yes, so we do allow all pets. They don't only have to be. You know the emotional support dogs, you know the certified dogs. We do allow pets into our community. So, ray, yes, we have a organization, canines for Christ, that come in every week and and just really interact with the residents and you know they love that, that I would say pets and also intergenerational, like young kids, residents go crazy for I can't give them that, but I can give them a dog.
Speaker 2:
Listen. One step at a time, megan. One step at a time. So the funny thing is, when I got my first English Bulldog back in 2003, I took him to Puppy Obedience oh, he was so good. And the woman said you should go to Intermediate Obedience.
Speaker 1:
I thought she was just trying to sell me another program.
Speaker 2:
But I went and he was really good. And then she said you know, he would really be a good therapy dog, Because people older like English Bulldogs, they think of Winston Churchill it kind of reminds them of that. And he was so lovable, he was so great he became an AKC Good Citizen. He was so great, he became an AKC good citizen. He was a certified therapy dog and I took him to see my grandmother when she was in assisted living facility and I went a few times with him and then my grandmother passed away and it was very sad to bring him there. So I you watch someone who's sitting in their chair kind of hunched over their body language is bad. As soon as I bring Norman in, it's like everybody like just they start to perk up, which is great, that's the best thing, yeah, All right.
Speaker 2:
So that's Ray. Question number two your family Is all your family from here Is everybody here.
Speaker 3:
Not everybody lives here. So I'm a Florida native, born and raised here, you're the one but so my parents and my sister live here, but my two other brothers, they live out of state. But you know, I've got my parents live about 45 minutes away, so still close proximity, which I'm thankful for.
Speaker 2:
And then the facilities in Wesley Chapel. Do you live close by the facility, like in that general vicinity, or do you have a big drive every day?
Speaker 3:
No, I can proudly say that I only live 14 minutes away, so at any point in time during the day, during the evening, during the night, I'm just a hop and a skip away.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that's good. It makes life a lot easier when you're that close For Ray it does. You can go home and do all that. That's great. So one of the things I like to ask people is has there been a time in your journey, in your career or in your personal life where you've run into a hardship, where you were like you know what I don't know if I'm going to get through this, whether it was something in schooling or something in the facility or whatever and what did you do to get through it and come out the other side to be sitting in your position now?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I do think you know, one of the biggest challenges that I face is, you know, I'm younger. When I started off in this industry, I came right from college, so I was 21 years old. You know, at the community I was formerly at, I was the assistant administrator. So you know, I've got directors and managers who are 20 plus years older. You know, looking at me and you know they're thinking this 20 something year old is not going to give me direction, you know. So that's been one of the things that even just you know, throughout the throughout my experience and throughout the years. You know now, even six years later, you know, is something that that you know, a thought always pops into my head. But you know, through determination, through perseverance and really just you know how I feel, the person that I am, you know I never want to come in and I will never act like I'm the smartest in the room.
Speaker 3:
You know, yes, I have a licensed nursing home administrator's license, but you know, especially when it comes to the directors, I look to them to be the specialist in. You know their fields and their departments. I'm not a, you know, I'm not a nurse, I'm not the director of nursing. So when it comes to nursing things, you know I'm turning to that individual and you know expecting or needing that support from that individual. So you know my age, I feel like, is my biggest hindrance. It's the only thing I can't change is is my age. But but being able to rise above that and you know, just assert myself and assert, you know, my confidence and leadership.
Speaker 2:
So would you say your management style? Because, listen, I've been in a similar situation. I was in a role and people were my peers and then all of a sudden I was promoted and now they were my subordinates. So there is a level of you know how to manage that For you. Do you feel like your management style is making everybody feel included in the process, so they know they're an important cog in the team? Is that the way you do it?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I never want you know. One thing that we talk about, or that I talk about in orientation is you know, there's not one individual that's more important than the others.
Speaker 3:
You know there have been moments and times. You know, if we've needed to clean a room, I've got a housekeeping card. If we needed to paint a wall, I'm in there with maintenance. There was a time that I was in the dining department for who knows how many days in the back of the dish pit and help or, you know, do the work that needs to be done for our residents, for our staff, for our families. So you know that's my leadership style. Is really, you know, just encouraging that you know we are all players in this. There's not one, you know, there's not one person that's better and surely I'm not better than, you know, any of our directors or any of our employees here.
Speaker 2:
And how big is the team? Just Blue Heron? How many people do you have total on staff?
Speaker 3:
We have about 219 employees here.
Speaker 2:
Wow, and now is Blue Heron. If I remember correctly, blue Heron is part of a bigger organization. Do you guys have other facilities in a parent company or is Blue Heron independent?
Speaker 3:
We are managed by a company, like you guys have other facilities and a parent company, or is Blue Heron independent or we are managed by a company, so we do have like sister facilities. There's five here in Florida, including Blue Heron, that are all managed by the same company.
Speaker 2:
Gotcha. Well, listen, I think I've resolved your age problem just in this conversation. If you carry some washcloths with you and then when you meet somebody just say hey, listen, why don't you take this washcloth? I made it myself, age issue solved. They'll just be like wow, you look incredible for 62, or they'll just think it'll be just, it'll be a compliment, but it look amazing, and they'll think most times I always have a jacket on.
Speaker 3:
Most rooms are really cold, for me too.
Speaker 2:
The age thing won't be a problem. You'll be good and in a few years you'll be hoping that the age thing will go back to the way it was. So, as we start to wrap this up, what is the one thing people listening to this, if they are in the situation like I was in and there's a bunch of facilities and there's a bunch of language, what's the one thing they need to know If they're in Wesley Chapel, new Tampa, zephyrhills, dade City, that whole section of town, why do we want them? Why do they need to know to come to Blue Heron?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I'm a big believer. You know, when I make decisions I want them. You know I want to make sure I'm making the best decision. So, even when an individual comes to tour Blue Heron, I always recommend go see other you know communities, because I never want somebody to, you know, feel I never want to be like a car salesman and you know, selling them on a service or a product.
Speaker 3:
I'm a big believer. Do your research, look at Google reviews, you know, find out. You know what community is going to be the best fit for your loved one and the best fit for your family, because, you know, hopefully it's Blue Heron, but but I never want somebody to feel pressured or, you know, feel, and I think the biggest thing that you can do is just do your research and really come here and experience the culture that we have and really come here and experience the culture that we have. We do visits where some of our assisted living residents, if they're interested in doing a lunch tour, they can come in for the day, spend some time in our programs Today we had a happy hour for our residents.
Speaker 3:
alcohol provided, I need to get on that calendar.
Speaker 2:
I need to be on that schedule. But that's one thing we need to be on that schedule.
Speaker 3:
But you know, that's one thing I, you know we do live music here as well. Most residents get to see. If I'm known for anything around here in the community, it's for my dancing.
Speaker 2:
So whenever there's live music. All right, so we're going to have to arrange an offsite visit, maybe a remote podcast where we're going to a little bingo, a little dancing a little open ball when they hear that song playing there.
Speaker 3:
You know looking and screaming my name, so I will tell you the funniest.
Speaker 2:
I mean, what am I? So, look, having a parent who has dementia, you have to have fun with it, because if you don't, it's such a heavy subject like it's a heavy subject hanging over everything all the time. So I would go play bingo with my dad at the facility he ultimately ended up at and like like three calls in, I would just say bingo. Like I would just say, is this game bingo? And watch the whole room like erupt, it's so mad. Like I would do it, like I was asking him a question. I mean I would uncontroll. You know, you get that laughter where you can't stop it, like in your inner room where you want to stop it every time. I would just amuse myself with that whole little scenario. So that was, that was my fun when I would go it's a very serious game.
Speaker 2:
It's serious it's super serious. You don't mess around. And then, depending on the game I mean bingo it's not just a straight line. You could have a box, you could have a full board. There's a whole thing we can go into. We can do a whole separate podcast on your dancing, on why Ray is named Ray and the whole Star Wars saga, as well as the importance of bingo and the seriousness of bingo and the seriousness of bingo. But we're out of time. So tell people how did they get ahold of you? If I have a family member that I need to try to get into the, into the Blue Heron system, what's the best way for people to reach out? Who do they call? What do they call?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, People are, are viewers, anyone listening to this or even anybody that's driving by. You know they're welcome to just stop into our community, and we do walk-in tours seven days a week, so at any point in time they can come. Individuals can reach out to myself. My cell phone number is 352-534-1408. They can also reach out to Lily Gonzalez, who is our Community Relations Director, and her number is 352-467-0238. You know I can send our emails, so then those can be posted as well too. They're kind of a mouthful so.
Speaker 2:
I will include any social posts.
Speaker 2:
any emails will include Lily's phone number, will include your phone number and I would say that you know kind of wrap this up. Having gone through this, what you just touched on right there would be. The thing I would suggest to anybody is do a drop in visit, because that's the best way to truly gauge a facility, like just showing up there. When my dad was in the hospital last time, they gave me a list of a bunch of places I found the perimeter of where I wanted to be. You know and listen, if you're living in Wesley Chapel and mom and dad need a place to stay, you want to keep them kind of close.
Speaker 2:
I didn't want to put my dad in Dunedin when I lived in New Tampa. It just it doesn't make sense. So if you're local and you're there and you're close, you want to go there, but drop in. It's the best way to gauge the facility. You know, Megan, it was so much fun having you on. I do appreciate it. Thank you for being a good neighbor. Thank you for being on the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Speaker 1:
I am going to drop by for happy hour and dancing very, very soon. Perfect. Thank you, mike. You're welcome. Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast PASCO. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppascocom. That's gnppascocom. Or call 813-922-3610.
