Out Of This World, Part 2: Sunrise

...Continued from yesterday:
    How hard could it be, I wondered.

    As I was to learn, the process of shepherding my mother from her old life into a new life at the age of ninety-nine-and-a-half,

...wasn't so hard or complicated logistically - emotionally was another matter - as it was all-consuming, and at times not a little overwhelming.
      In any case, as soon as it was agreed upon by my siblings, my hubby and myself that my mother would move to Ohio under my guardianship I became consumed with the not only with the logistics of the operation, but with my sudden, unprepared-for new role as my mother's guardian.
     The first task at hand was finding a senior care facility for my mother, which undertaking I began toute de suite.  I decided to start my investigation with the assisted living facility closest to my house, then work my way outward.
      As it turned out, the care facility closest to my house was less than a mile away, a place called Sunrise of Gahanna where my daughter Claire had worked  for a summer before she started nursing school. I recalled her saying at that time what a nice place it was. And so I scheduled an appointment for Tom and I to visit Sunrise on Thursday, October 3.
      We entered through the pretty front patio,

...into a bright, beautiful lobby,

...where we were greeted by a big friendly Labradoodle named Ginger who nonetheless made a beeline back to her cage when I pulled out my camera.

    "She doesn't like having her picture taken," chuckled the Concierge, as the friendly lady who works at the front desk is known.
       Tom and I met with the Sunrise sales manager, a sunny young lady who talked to us at length about the the facility's assisted living and memory care units. We learned that Sunrise is a chain of senior care facilities based on the Swedish model of senior care, which involves elderly people living together in community houses.    
     The sales manager explained that at Sunrise the assisted living residents lived in one of two "neighborhoods," each with twelve residents. There was a memory care or dementia unit as well, also divided into two neighborhoods of twelve residents each.
        We then toured the assisted living area, starting with the Bistro, a social gathering and activities place situated between the two neighborhoods where snacks and drinks were always available to the residents.   

    We headed down the hallway from the Bistro, past another hallway leading to the memory care neighborhood,

...to one of the assisted living neighborhoods.

     The residents' rooms opened into a homey great room consisting of a living room,

...dining room,

...and kitchen where the meals were prepared.

    After our indoor tour we had a look at the courtyard where, we were told, the residents enjoy gathering in nice weather.

     Now, it wasn't just that I found this place cozy and charming or that that every staff member we met that day, from the Director to the care managers to the housekeepers was friendly, cheerful and seemed to like their job (even a couple of care givers apparently taking an outside break whom Tom and I had passed on our way into the building had smiled and said hello to us as we passed); it was also this sign in the lobby:

...that made me know that my search for a place for my mom to live was over, thankfully, on the first try.
      To be continued...