It is all about purposeful living, changing the world and mixing the generations.
By Steve Moran
Recently I spent about an hour on the phone with a senior living executive who asked me to do a review of his website and make some recommendations. It was a great site but I did make a dozen or so suggestions for some tweaks. There was one thing on the site, though, that almost made my head explode.
The website said things like (not the exact language so you can’t go search it):
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“It is like living at a resort.”
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“We will cater to your every need.”
Argh . . . this is just asking residents to require more help, to be more unhappy and to have a shorter length of stay. At the risk of insulting, I believe it is cruel.
The Family Dilemma
I believe we have fallen into this trap because of family guilt. Mom or dad was never supposed to move into “one of those places.” Then one day everyone realizes home is no longer an option. So in order to relieve a bit of the guilt of putting a loved one in an institution, they want Ritz Carlton and not Motel 6 because the Ritz makes the family feel less guilty.
Every resident can learn one more thing or make one more friend maybe even to the day they take their last breath.
What’s All This Have to Do with Merrill Gardens?
Last week Loree Wagner, who is in charge of public relations and corporate communications for Merrill Gardens sent me an email saying, “I think you will love this video.” I did because it is all about purposeful living, changing the world and mixing the generations. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
