By Brandon Hair, Executive Director of Springmoor
I held our second Coffee & Conversation in North Village in May 2024, and the event was as well attended as our first one in South Village in March of this year. I’m happy to report there were just as many good questions, comments, and compliments. This purpose of these informal gatherings is to provide residents with another opportunity to connect with me about whatever is on their minds related to life at Springmoor.
As I did for the March event, in this short blog post I am providing an overview of what transpired at the meeting. I am also including a few of the questions from the residents in attendance, along with my answers. I hope this is helpful, and residents should feel free to provide me with feedback in whatever way is easiest for them.
We received many compliments from residents at the May event about their overall happiness, especially with our staff. I’m happy to continue to hear such wonderful things about our dedicated employees.
The current nurse practitioner in the clinic received special recognition. One resident in attendance shared that she recently became a great-grandmother. I include these two highlights to emphasize that Coffee & Conversation, as the name implies, is relaxed and unstructured. And, we all enjoy hearing praise and good news about others.
Below are a few of the questions asked in May, along with my answers:
Question: When will the white stripes in the parking lot be repainted?
Answer: These were scheduled to be repainted in the third week of May.
Question: What can be done to address no-shows that sign up for activities and other programs?
Answer: Kari Richie, Pathways Wellness Director, and the Pathways Team are working on a policy to address this as best we can. Of course, if a ticket was pre-purchased or there were any fees and residents do not show, they will still be charged.
Question: Where does the money left over from my monthly meal plan go if I don’t use it all?
Answer: I know this can be complicated for many new residents. Each resident pays an all-inclusive monthly service fee. Out of that service fee, we carve out the cost of one meal a day to be used as flexible dining dollars. If you do not use all your dollars, you can roll over up to a month’s amount if you are on the full meal plan.
Question: What don’t we buy a new bus as there seem to be many repairs lately?
Answer: The recent repairs were also discussed in the South Village meeting last month. The large bus in reference is costly, and we believe that with the recent improvements and repairs we have made to the bus and the new wheelchair bus purchased last year, we will not need a new bus at this time.
Question: When can you switch meal plans to go on the reduced meal plan or back to the full one?
Answer: You can do this once a year, and a notification are sent out to all residents beforehand. This is usually done in September. We may, however, change the deadline this year to try and gauge how many people will be on each so we can budget more accurately.
Question: What are some ways residents can use up their monthly meal allowance?
Answer: A few ideas I always like to mention are to treat yourself to more premium entrees, have family and friends over for lunch or dinner, buy sodas and snacks for your room, or buy employees meal tickets as we can now accept those from residents. Please remember employees cannot accept cash, checks, or electronic transfers such as Venmo and PayPal, but a meal ticket that can only be used at Springmoor is acceptable.
Thank you to all who participated this month in North Village. I look forward to seeing South Village residents at our next Coffee & Conversation.
Springmoor is a nonprofit Continuing Care Retirement Community offering seniors a variety of residence options that range from apartments to larger villas and homes. If you’re looking for an active senior living community in Raleigh, call us at 919-848-7080 with your questions.
You can also click here to fill out a short online form to receive a free packet of information or schedule an appointment for a personalized tour. Our friendly team looks forward to meeting you soon!
Are you interested in becoming part of Springmoor’s exceptional team? Visit the careers page of our website to view our current job openings and apply online.
