Continuum of Care
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ith three of their four parents having lived well into their 90s, Janet and Harold Garman knew they wanted to find a place where they could grow older comfortably with quick access to services if they ever needed more help. “We knew from our parents’ experience that the future could hold one health crisis after another,” said Janet Garman. “All three of them chose to move to a continuing care retirement community near us in Syracuse (N.Y.). We wanted to give our kids the same gift.” Although the Garmans initially considered taking an apartment or a condo in the District, “we decided to make one move and ensure that we would be taken care of for life,” Janet Garman said. In May 2010, the couple relocated to the Diamond Apartments on the beautifully landscaped, 130-acre campus of Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg to be near their three daughters. “We wanted to move on our own terms while we still had our health.” As the Garmans saw firsthand, a continuing care retirement community like Asbury is uniquely positioned to support the health and wellness needs of residents while providing lifelong security. In addition to a range of living options, conveniences and services, residents of the not-for-profit community have access to Benevolent Care, which provides financial support for residents who exhaust their financial resources through no fault of their own. While the large majority of Asbury’s 1,300plus residents enjoy an independent lifestyle
The SARA pendant lets the wearer summon emergency help anywhere on Asbury’s 130-acre campus.
FAST FACT
About Asbury’s
Asbury Methodist Village is the only continuing care retirement community in Montgomery County that is nationally accredited.
in apartments or duplex-style homes, the nationally accredited community offers access to multiple levels of living – including assisted living and skilled nursing – along with a variety of services, including rehabilitation therapy, out-patient therapy, memory care and inhome services. “The continuum is dynamic, and residents can move back and forth between the levels of living as their needs change,” said Amy Ostrolenk, director of health and wellness for residential living. In their nearly three years at Asbury, the Garmans have created full lives for themselves in their residential living neighborhood. Both are active participants in Asbury’s HealthAbility wellness program. Hal Garman spearheaded development of the innovative Beloved Community partnership between Asbury residents and Gaithersburg youth, while Janet chairs the Diamond Resident Council. They have yet to need the rest of the Asbury continuum, but know it’s there if they ever do. But, for Aurora and Eduardo Sevilla, that continuum of services has been a blessing. Two weeks before their planned move from Bergen County, N.J., to a brand-new Courtyard Home at Asbury, Eduardo Sevilla had a stroke. It was a month before he was stable enough to relocate. “It was quite a relief to learn that there was sub-acute rehabilitation therapy available on the Asbury campus,” said Aurora Sevilla. After a stay at the Herman M. Wilson Health Care
THE CONTINUUM AT A GLANCE
Residents may move back and forth between levels of living as needed. RESIDENTIAL LIVING
ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE AT HOME
PHYLLIS A. KINDLEY ASSISTED LIVING
The large majority of Asbury’s 1,300 plus residents live independently in one of eight residential living neighborhoods scattered across the 130-acre, wooded campus. With nearly 60 floor plans available, these neighborhoods provide price points to suit a wide range of budgets and financial goals. Included services vary by neighborhood, but all residents have access to Asbury amenities, the health services continuum and Benevolent Care. Residents must be at least age 60. Pets are welcome.
Asbury residents have long had the option of arranging for extra help in their homes on a feefor-service basis. Now these same personalized in-home services are available to people who don’t live at Asbury. Known as Asbury Methodist Village at Home, the new program offers services ranging from companionship, housekeeping and meal preparation to bathing, transportation and medication management. Asbury personal assistants are trained to go the extra mile to meet clients’ needs.
Helping hands through the day free Kindley residents from many of life’s daily challenges so they can enjoy family and all that Asbury offers. With views of Asbury’s wildlife preserve, each of the six floors features a dining room and themed living room, and residents can use any. A full schedule includes fitness classes, gardening, cultural offerings, manicures and even competitive chess. Kindley’s all-inclusive fees means very few surprises on the monthly bill. Residents qualify for lower rates than non-residents who move to Kindley.
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l Access to a full continuum of services if ever needed. l
Center, Eduardo joined his wife in their lovely freestanding two-bedroom, two-bath home. Aurora initially turned to Asbury for personalized, in-home assistance, as Eduardo requires round-the-clock care. For many couples, that ability to stay together – or to be close enough to visit daily – is one of the chief benefits of living in a community like Asbury. Both Wilson and Phyllis A. Kindley Assisted Living are connected by covered walkways to three residential living neighborhoods so that spouses can visit easily even if different Asbury offers sub-acute rehabilitation therapy seven care needs require them to live apart. a week for faster recovery. “A continuing care retirement community gives people the option to move within the tient therapy in their home. If they or a spouse has continuum so that each person’s needs are met in Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, memory a comfortable and safe way,” said Asbury Method- care is available in a cheery neighborhood of Wilson ist Village Executive Director David Denton. “The called Morning Glory Terrace. Asbury is committed to promoting independence beauty is that it reduces or eliminates the stressors of being a full-time caregiver, allowing couples to the greatest degree possible, regardless of the to enjoy the company of the person they fell in love level of living, said Ostrolenk, who leads a weekly meeting of Asbury’s care navigation team. with and married.” “We talk about ways new residents can get enHaving priority access to services right on campus takes a lot of pressure off family relationships, gaged so they can take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities here at Asbury,” she said. They Denton added. “When a parent’s daily needs are met, adult chil- also brainstorm ways to help residents facing health dren are able to spend quality time with them in- challenges. “It could be something that seems minor stead of having to struggle with chores and even per- but is really huge, such as ordering grab bars for the sonal care,” said Paula Alarid, director of marketing bathroom or shifting furniture to accommodate a and admissions at Asbury’s Phyllis H. Kindley As- walker or wheelchair.” Asbury’s decision to embrace the Planetree phisisted Living. Residents who need extra help typically have losophy two years ago makes resident choice and choices. Depending on their circumstances, they independence even more of a priority for the comcould relocate from their residential living home to munity’s workforce. Schedules in both Wilson and Kindley for a full range of extra services – or, they Kindley revolve around residents’ needs. “Your address may be Kindley,” said Alarid, “but could arrange to have selected services delivered into their home through Asbury Methodist Village this entire campus is yours.” Kindley residents can at Home. Following an injury, surgery or illness, res- call for a car or catch scheduled campus transporidents can check into Wilson for short-term, in-pa- tation right outside the front door to travel across tient rehabilitation therapy – or could receive outpa- campus.
HERMAN M. WILSON HEALTH CARE CENTER REHABILITATION THERAPY Following a hospital stay for an illness, injury or surgery, a few weeks of intensive rehabilitation therapy can promote a quicker and better recovery. Wilson is well-regarded by medical practitioners for helping clients make rapid improvements. It also maintains one of the highest family satisfaction ratings in Maryland. A key to Wilson’s good outcomes is providing therapy seven days a week and use of innovative therapy technology. Wilson has developed a new specialty in wound care.
“We tailor a resident’s rehabilitation therapy program to their life here at Asbury,” said Cynthia Perez, Wilson’s Admissions Manager. “If a resident wants to participate in a fashion show or go to their men’s group, we make sure to work around the things that are important to them.” Wilson’s long-term residents are presented with choices throughout the day. There is a menu with choices at every meal, and residents order what they’d like at the table rather than filling out a form hours days ahead of time. Long-term Wilson resident Mera Cyr takes her motorized wheelchair to play in bridge groups all over campus – to Kindley once a week and to a residential living group twice a month. “I just need some assistance getting up in the morning and then into the chair. After that, I’m good to go,” said Cyr, who came to Wilson four years ago following back surgery. The health care center’s Morning Glory Terrace is designed both aesthetically and programmatically to meet the needs of residents with memory loss. The secure, structured environment, said Debbie Hedges, Wilson’s interim administrator, “provides residents with as much freedom as possible. They can safely move about and interact with each other.” When the time comes that a resident requires more help than their current living arrangement provides, they almost always have options, agree Ostrolenk and Alarid. “Decisions are made jointly and only after a great deal of discussion with all parties involved,” said Alarid. “Generally, a resident – and when appropriate, their family members – weigh the choices, and they pick the option that makes the most sense for them.” And that is the beauty of the Asbury continuum. It can bend and stretch, adapting to the evolving needs and desires of residents as they continue on life’s journey.
HERMAN M. WILSON HEALTH CARE CENTER
HERMAN M. WILSON HEALTH CARE CENTER
LONG-TERM CARE While 60 to 70 people check into Wilson each month for short-term rehabilitation therapy, for many more, Wilson has become their permanent home. Residents who require 24-hour skilled nursing for a chronic health condition that can’t be supported elsewhere at Asbury have access to Wilson’s team of nursing professionals. With Asbury’s commitment to the Planetree philosophy, Wilson has few dietary restrictions and ensures that residents have choices and interactions with caring people throughout the day.
MORNING GLORY TERRACE With brightly decorated hallways and secure access to the outdoors, Wilson’s memory care neighborhood creates a safe and structured place for residents with mid- and late-stage Alzheimer’s or other forms of memory loss. Morning Glory Terrace, often full with a wait list, is designed to provide residents with as much freedom of movement as possible. Caring staff are trained to develop unique relationships with each resident and learn to anticipate their needs.
l 301-658-7529 l info@Asbury.org l www.AsburyMethodistVillage.org l
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FAST FACT
More than 85 percent of people receiving rehabilitation therapy at Wilson return to their prior level of functioning.
A Healthy Frame of Mind – and Body l
Residents Embrace HealthAbility
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dith Isacke hadn’t picked up her flute for more than 20 years, but decided she was going to start playing again when she moved to Asbury. The only trouble was, she didn’t have enough breath control and stamina to play. She regained her wind – and converted into an avid exerciser – after signing up for Asbury Methodist Village’s HealthAbilityTM program. Now 87, the Diamond Apartments resident typically walks three miles a day, attends many fitness classes and says she feels healthier than at any time in her 70s. Plus, she’s found four kindred musicians who enjoy playing as an ensemble, and their quintet performs regularly at Asbury. HealthAbility, developed and operated by Sodexo in a partnership with Asbury, is a holistic lifestyle program providing residents with the resources to live their lives to the fullest, regardless of age or ability, said Amy Ostrolenk, Asbury’s director of health and wellness. “One resident said, ‘Amy, I’m 92 years old, what more can I do?’ My response was, ‘What more would you like to do?’ Age is a number, not a barrier.” Whether helping a college football fan get strong enough to climb the stadium steps (and fit enough to beat her grandchild to their seats) or creating a training schedule for victory in Senior Olympics competitions, HealthAbility is designed to put every person on a path that adds vibrancy, joy and purpose to living. “We challenge residents to ask themselves, ‘What does it mean to live my best life?’ ” said Ostrolenk. “Are there new interests to explore or old talents to rekindle? What passions do you want to pursue?” HealthAbility encompasses six dimensions of wellness, of which physical “is the crux – the meat and potatoes,” said Andrea Giaquinto, activities director at Phyllis H. Kindley Assisted Living. “Without your health, the other components – vocational, spiritual, intellectual, emotional and social – can be more challenging.” The James F. Rosborough Jr. Cultural Arts and Wellness Center is the hub of campus recreational, intellectual, social and cultural activities. Featuring an indoor heated lap pool and walking track, fitness center, 275-seat theater, television production studio, technology center and resource library, Rosborough offers unparalleled opportunities for residents to fuel their passions. Asbury also is home to the resident-run William A. Keese School of Continuing Education, which of-
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Kindley resident Robert DaVita can walk through covered corridors to Asbury’s pool.
Fitness Improvements
of HealthAbility Participants in One Year programming, including volunteerfers dozens of classes and trips each ing opportunities. semester. Additionally, the campus As Asbury prepares to expand its hosts classes through the Osher InHealthAbility offerings, residents stitute of Lifelong Learning at Johns increase in balance in assisted living and skilled nursHopkins University and serves as a ing will notice changes. “We’ll be satellite location for the Music Cenlaunching a new fitness initiative in ter at Strathmore. increase in upper Kindley, opening a satellite exercise For Courtyard Homes resident body strength facility there in March. There will be Aurora Sevilla, HealthAbility means new equipment and staff available taking advantage of water exercise to work with residents during desclasses and resident-coordinated increase in endurance ignated hours,” said Cathy Moxley, trips to Strathmore, the John F. Asbury’s director of fitness. Kennedy Center for the PerformWhile residents don’t need to ening Arts and Arena Stage. “The bus increase in lower roll to take part in most HealthAbiltrips satisfy my need for cultural acbody strength ity program offerings, many opt to tivities and give me a much-needed take a fitness test and complete a break,” said Sevilla, who has chosen quality-of-lifestyle questionnaire. to care for her husband Eduardo at “In those cases, we have measurable home since his stroke two years ago. “Being a caregiver wears you out. So my doctor is al- outcomes,” said Ostrolenk. But another, albeit less scientific, gauge is the ways encouraging me to make time for myself. I can do quarterly HealthAbility celebrations where residents that at Asbury.” With its wide selection of offerings, HealthAbility share their success stories with neighbors. “It’s amazis a choice that an overwhelming majority of Asbury ing to hear what residents are doing, some despite residents select. Nearly 90 percent of those living in challenges,” Ostrolenk said. “They certainly inspire Kindley Assisted Living participate in HealthAbility me to better myself and stay active and engaged.”
l Access to a full continuum of services if ever needed. l
18% 12% 8% 5%
FAST FACT
Not a single resident has ever been asked to leave Asbury due to an inability to pay since its founding in 1926.
Planetree Philosophy
Gives Residents Control of Lifestyle, Care
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DINING DELIGHTS l
Residents’ Tastes Shape Cuisine Across Campus
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hether dinner is in Asbury Methodist Village’s most upscale restaurant or in one of the dining rooms in Herman M. Wilson Health Care Center, choice and satisfaction are at the center of the dining experience. “Few retirement communities have menus as extensive as ours,” said Evaristo Gustines, Asbury’s Director of Dining Services. With 15 to 20 different menu selections every day, choices abound for flavor, ingredients, nutrition, and portion sizes. Gustines enjoys organizing monthly tours to wow residents with kitchen tours showing the quality and freshness of the food that is headed for their tables. What truly distinguishes Asbury’s menu, according to Gustines, is an ongoing partnership between residents and Dining Services associates. “When it comes time to change menus, we rely on feedback from 300 to 400 residents,” he said. “That information empowers us to think creatively and come up with new ways to satisfy. This is the residents’ menu.” The menu regularly evolves to meet changing tastes, an increasing desire for healthy options and ethnic foods and sustainable practices. While there are plenty of home-style favorites, Asbury’s new HealthAbility menu includes gluten-free dishes as well as items
that are lower in calories, fat and sodium. And a standard “Meatless Monday” option not only gives residents a way to reduce cholesterol intake, but shrinks Asbury’s carbon footprint, as “it takes less water to feed plants than animals,” said Gustines. Asbury also supports sustainable fishing practices. “We won’t purchase anything that is overfished,” he added. Dining at Asbury is typically a social event, “an experience to be savored,” he said. The campus has three restaurants offering seated dinner service. While both the Wilson Health Care Center and the Phyllis H. Kindley Assisted Living building have dining rooms on every floor, residents are free to eat anywhere on campus – and many do. It’s not unusual for Wilson and Kindley residents to have standing dinner dates with friends in residential living. No matter where dinner is served on campus, it is an elegant affair, complete with cloth table covers and napkins and tableside service. Recognizing the importance of nutrition in recovering from illness and injury, Asbury over the past year has launched an initiative to create two bistros at either end of two floors of the health care center, according to Austin Bowen, food service manager. Snacks are available 24/7 to residents and their guests.
here was a time when Patrice Sosso would move through the day, accomplishing one task after another, providing quality care but always on a schedule. “The personal relationships I have now with the residents on my floor are much more satisfying – for them and for me,” said Sosso, a geriatric nursing aide at Herman M. Wilson Health Care Center. Having embraced Planetree – a philosophy of service in which residents’ desires and choices come first – Sosso spends time “trying to demystify the care I provide and making sure residents are ready to receive my assistance,” he said. “I always explain what I am available to do – whether helping them wash or escorting them to the dining room – and make sure it is a good time for them.” The Planetree philosophy pervades all aspects of life at Asbury Methodist Village, from dining to wellness programming to health care, says Debbie Hedges, interim administrator at Wilson. “With Planetree, the focus is on each resident as a person who has individual needs and desires. It is a holistic approach that gives residents control and our associates the freedom to think out of the box and find ways to say, ‘Yes,’ when responding to a request,” she said. Relationship-building is central to Planetree’s success and at the core of Asbury’s corporate-wide Advancing Organizational Excellence initiative. Residents have frequent opportunities – individually or as part of a more formal group – to share ideas for improvements. For example, monthly town hall meetings, where residents are invited to “voice concerns or make comments about their experiences, give me the opportunity to listen and hear what they like and don’t like about the dining experience,” said Austin Bowen, Asbury’s food service manager. Bowen then collaborates with residents on ways to resolve dining-related concerns. After formally adopting the Planetree philosophy two years ago, Asbury began holding retreats to introduce staff to this new way of thinking, according to Barbara Morrison, culture change coordinator. The eight-hour workshops are designed to “break down the silos we work in and create one large health care team,” she said. The training “helps everyone – from housekeeping and laundry, to drivers, security and the receptionist – visualize the components of Planetree in action. And, it helps re-sensitize associates to the aging process and allows them to see their role” in creating an environment that supports the independence of residents, regardless of their health status.
l 301-658-7529 l info@Asbury.org l www.AsburyMethodistVillage.org l
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Residency Has Its Privileges l Priority Access, Reduced
Rates, Financial Support Available at Asbury
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ern Kauffman has seen many wonderful changes during her 28 years at Asbury Methodist Village, but it is the underlying constancy – in the not-for-profit community’s vision, values and integrity – that reinforces her decision to call Asbury home. “The support is here for me when I can no longer do my own thing in residential living,” said Kauffman, who lives in the Edwards-Fisher Apartments. “I know my needs will be a priority, whether I choose to move to assisted living – as a friend of mine just did – or to the health care center, where I volunteer on Mondays.” With payment of their entrance fee, Asbury residents gain priority access to a full continuum of services and qualify for reduced rates in Phyllis H. Kindley Assisted Living – saving more than $10,000 a year in many situations. They also know that a safety net is in place should they outlive their financial resources through no fault of their own. Known as benevolent care, the confidential program ensures that residents will always have a place at Asbury as well as access to services and care. It also covers ancillary expenses, such as medications. “Benevolent care may
Edith Isacke uses an iPad from a bed in Wilson. All neighborhoods and Rosborough were equipped with wireless last year due to a gift to the Asbury Foundation. be accessed by all residents no matter when or where on the continuum they joined the Asbury community,” said Brent Bayes, Asbury’s director of sales and marketing. While the not-for-profit Asbury Foundation’s funding for benevolent care is not limitless, the funds are well managed and secure, Bayes said. Not a single resident has ever had to leave Asbury due to an inability to pay since its founding in 1926. Of those receiving benevolent care at Asbury Methodist Village in 2011, “four of five were women,” said Douglas Myers, president and CEO of the As-
bury Foundation. “The average age was 92 years, and the average length of residency at Asbury was about 12 years.” While the concept of benevolent care was rooted in Asbury’s earliest history, it wasn’t until the foundation was established 17 years ago that significant funds became available. Despite a sluggish economy in 2011, the foundation received more than $3 million in new gifts from 3,459 donors spread across its six communities. At Asbury Methodist Village, more than 1,200 donors contributed nearly $1.2 million. That same year, about $550,000 in benevolent care was provided to resi-
dents on the Gaithersburg campus. In addition, community-wide uncompensated services – generally health care expenditures that Medicaid or an individuals’ savings or insurance did not cover – provided by Asbury Methodist Village in 2011 totaled nearly $5 million. Residents take an active role in raising funds for benevolent care, whether through fundraising initiatives or direct contributions, according to Kauffman. “The Bargain Mart and Clothes Closet resell donated items and put the funds into benevolent care,” she said. Since 1989, proceeds from the Williamsburg Clothes Closet have exceeded $310,000. The Bargain Mart attracts the help of residents such as Ed Crockett, a woodworking hobbyist who restores pieces of furniture so that they can be resold. Crockett, who occasionally helps neighbors with small household repairs, refuses to accept payment, urging his fellow residents to contribute instead to the Asbury Foundation. The foundation is governed by a 12-member board of directors consisting of representatives from the communities Asbury serves. It is audited annually by a nationally recognized accounting firm. For additional information about the foundation and ways to donate, visit us online at www.TheAsburyFoundation.org.
National Accreditation Validates Asbury’s Strengths
Asbury Methodist Village is the one organization of its kind in Montgomery County to earn accreditation from the nation’s only accrediting body for Continuing Care Retirement Communities. “When you’re making a significant expenditure, don’t you want to know that you’re making a financially sound decision – to hear from someone independent of the community that you’ll be safe and secure?” said Jane Ippolito, Asbury’s senior consultant for organizational learning. “Accreditation offers residents and their families peace of mind knowing that the community is going above and beyond the norm to protect their investment, provide optimal care
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and offer outstanding programming.” To earn accreditation by CARFCCAC (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities-Continuing Care Accreditation Commission), Asbury is measured against more than 1,100 standards of quality every five years. However, it reports on compliance with various financial standards each year. The accreditation process is rigorous, but voluntary, and only about 17 percent of the nation’s CCRCs have taken steps to be accredited. Although Asbury has been accredited since the early 1990s, it is continually engaged in evaluating and improving its management, governance and service-
delivery practices with an eye toward resident satisfaction. Site visits center around a peer review. The three surveyors review a range of documentation and meet with stakeholders to gauge their familiarity and satisfaction with the community’s financial health, administrative practices and program offerings. “Successful communities listen to their customers through surveys and focus groups,” said Ippolito. “An important part of the process is that residents and family members feel they are being heard.” The same holds true for associates. “Their suggestions directly affect life
l Access to a full continuum of services if ever needed. l
here at Asbury, making it better, not just for themselves, but for the residents, family members and community as a whole,” she said. There is a direct correlation between resident and associate satisfaction. “If you have happy residents, you generally have happy associates.” Staff longevity is a testament to Asbury’s commitment to those it serves and those who serve, according to Debbie Hedges, interim administrator at the Herman M. Wilson Health Care Center. “We have associates who have worked here more than 20 years and just love what they do. To them it’s not a job, but a calling,” she said.
Expanding the Continuum of Care l Asbury Brings Its Experience,
FAST FACTS
Resources to the Community
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fter nearly nine decades of enriching the lives of people on its Gaithersburg campus, Asbury Methodist Village is looking to do the same throughout Montgomery County – providing services and resources to older persons who don’t live at Asbury. “Asbury is uniquely positioned in terms of its reputation and capabilities to serve the growing population of older persons,” said Bill Pickhardt, senior vice president of Asbury Home Services. “This is a way that we can expand our mission by making Asbury services available to even more people.” Known as Asbury Methodist Village at Home, the new program offers the same types of personalized assistance that Asbury residents can arrange to have delivered into their homes on the Asbury campus. Services can range from companionship, housekeeping and meal preparation to bathing, transportation and medication management. “We are committed to providing the Montgomery County community with the same outstanding level of care that, until now, has been available only to Asbury residents,” Pickhardt said. While other companies are providing similar services, Asbury’s reputation for quality and its philosophy of service set it apart. “We use a social model of care,” said Pickhardt. “That means while we go in with specific tasks to accomplish, we make it a priority to get to know the people we serve. An Asbury personal assistant may talk about current events, make a cup of tea, or locate the missing TV remote. “As a result, they catch things that people who simply check off a list of tasks might miss,” he said. “For example, an Asbury personal assistant might spot a throw rug that has become a hazard or furniture that needs to be rearranged to accommodate a walker. These types of things – which require constant attention to the needs of our clients – add value to our service and improve the person’s quality of life.” Asbury Methodist Village at Home is the first of many enhancements that will expand the organization’s continuum of care. Non-residents have long had access to Phyllis A. Kindley Assisted Living as well as skilled nursing, memory care and
Wilson had some of the highest family satisfaction ratings statewide in a 2012 Holleran survey, which found
95 percent of families would recommend Wilson to a friend or loved one. The Asbury Methodist Village at Home program offers the community at large some of the same services Asbury residents may receive, including companionship. rehabilitative services at the Herman M. Wilson Health Care Center. But, unlike those who live on the Gaithersburg campus, non-residents have not been able to tap into Asbury’s wealth of experience providing inhome services. Now they can. “Everyone wants options,” said Ann Gillespie, Asbury’s chief strategy officer. Driving the desire for increased options is the “combination of a demographic tsunami and the changing health care marketplace… As a result, our vision for a 21st century continuum includes serving those beyond our campus…and doing so, in part, through community partnerships. There are no more lone rangers. We must collaborate if we want to succeed in creating ways for people to age well over time.” That, according to Gillespie, means working with existing organizations – such as hospitals and physician groups and other community based providers – to coordinate transitions and care. Helping people navigate the maze of health and wellness options and requirements is one of Asbury’s strengths. The organization has moved from a more static, case management model to that of care navigation, a client-driven integrated approach that addresses a person’s needs as they evolve. Asbury’s 21st century continuum addresses more than physical health and so-
cial needs, but overall wellness. “People who want to age in place, whether that is on an Asbury campus or in their homes in the surrounding community, need more than access to nurses; they need to be able to benefit from cultural and intellectual opportunities like the partnerships Asbury currently has with Johns Hopkins University and Strathmore,” said Gillespie. “It’s not unlike a commuter college model for older adults.” As the options available to help older persons age in place expand, so does the potential for confusion as to the best course of action for any individual. Caregivers, as well as the children of older adults, may need help identifying what’s available, understanding the options, and navigating the system,” said Gillespie. “We are doing some exciting things in partnership with both public-service and private-sector organizations to educate the community about the best ways to approach services.” As Asbury begins to roll out new options for older persons, it is doing so in a way that “is true to our mission and responsive to those we serve now and those who we’ll serve in the future,” said Gillespie. To learn more about Asbury Methodist Village at Home, visit www.Asbury MethodistVillageAtHome.org or call 301-216-4275.
l 301-658-7529 l info@Asbury.org l www.AsburyMethodistVillage.org l
Asbury’s rehabilitation therapy program in Wilson is
the only one in Maryland
using Omni VR virtual reality therapy.
To learn more about the Asbury lifestyle, or to receive our fall 2012 publication, call us at 301-658-7529.
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l Access to a full continuum of services if ever needed. l