Published: January 08, 2008 10:57 am      

Providence Place doing well

Providence Place, Woodward’s new assisted living center, has been in operation for three months and is doing well.

“There’s just been a great deal of support,” said Administrator Deborah Treadaway. “It’s been very helpful.”

While the operation of the facility has been going smoothly, Treadaway said it has also been a learning experience.

“The thing the community is learning as we go along here is what type of resident is appropriate for assisted living,” said Treadaway.

Providence Place includes an in house beauty salon, a masculine lounge, a feminine parlor, a library, several commons areas, exercise sessions and other amenities.

Residents living in Providence Place must have a certain level of mobility to live in the facility.

Treadaway said residents must be able to get out of a chair or a bed by themselves in case of emergency.

Also the facility is not equipped with a memory care unit so those with advance Alzheimer’s disease would not receive the care required at Providence Place.

However, the facility is an assisted living facility, and much care is given to the residents.

“We’re staffed around the clock with certified nursing assistants,” said Treadaway.

Three meals are provided each day and are homemade in the facility’s large kitchen. Residents are required to eat their lunch and dinner in the formal dining room but can have their breakfast delivered each morning on a tray.

“We have excellent food,” said Treadaway.

Residents are also free to come and go as they please just as if they were living on their own, but there are many activities to keep residents busy without leaving the facility. There are games, parties, crafts and other activities within Providence Place. Soon there will also be a gift shop with gift items, cards and every day products the residents may need.

Treadaway said the facility is currently 70 percent full and the apartments available are the roomy studio apartments with walk-in showers and kitchenettes.

Each apartment in the facility has a kitchenette with cabinets, a refrigerator and a microwave. A community stove is available for residents to use if they would like to do some baking.

Providence Place resident Lahoma Grunewald is glad she made the recent move to Providence Place.

“It’s fabulous here,” said Grunewald. “I love it. Everybody is so nice and the food is great.”

Treadaway said assisted living centers are good for people who are getting older and may otherwise become isolated.

“Our resident community has really become kind of a close knit community,” said Treadaway.