Madbury NH, April 8—To those who think that an assisted living facility is where senior citizens go to live their last years alone–neglected and isolated in a large, impersonal setting, Sara Nadeau has a remedy.
“Seniors don’t want to live in a home, they want to have a home,” says Nadeau, Carriage Hill’s President and Administrator. “We believe that having a home, a community, friendship and the ability to do normal things that everyone does at home is what Seniors want and deserve in an assisted living facility,” Sara said. “Needing assistance with the tasks of daily living shouldn’t change that.”
To that end, Sara and her family are opening a brand new facility that serves as the centerpiece for the way all assisted living facilities should be operated. The groundbreaking ceremony for the building is slated for April 16th with the grand opening to occur in mid-November.
Drive onto the Carriage Hill property this fall and you will see beautiful gardens, nature paths and one or more beautiful antique carriages restored by Sara’s Father and Grandfather. Other carriages will be rotated in and out of the facility monthly to display the more than 12 carriages that the family owns. In the spring and summer, residents who wish, will be able to tend to their own personal garden areas.
The centerpiece of the property–at first glance–looks like a gloriously restored antique New England barn. In reality, it is a state-of-the-art assisted living center. It’s built to the latest hospital building standards but you would never know it. Enter the front door and you’ll see New England antiques filling the living room and sitting room. There’s a music room in addition to a beautiful dining room, where residents will gather for three meals each day. There is also a private dining room, where residents can invite family and friends for special occasions or family meals.
In all, there are 24 rooms with private bathrooms and walk-in showers at Carriage Hill. They will accommodate the 24 people who will call Carriage Hill their home. Enhancing the intimate family-style setting, will be a high ratio of caregivers: one person for every six residents.
“One of the most important aspects of Carriage Hill is having the proper number of caregivers to assist the residents,” Sara said. “Equally important is to make sure the caregivers are happy and like working here, since we expect them to deliver care as if they were caring for their own loved ones,” she explained.
Another area where Carriage Hill is breaking with tradition is by offering highly transparent, all-inclusive pricing. Residents will pay $5,000-5600 per month based on their care needs to live at Carriage Hill which includes all of the services and amenities, such as meals, laundry, snacks and many others as clearly listed on the website. Extra costs for optional additional services, such as unlimited medical transportation, are also clearly listed.
While there is very little at Carriage Hill that holds with assisted living traditions, Sara is starting one tradition that she hopes new residents will appreciate. “My mother and mother-in-law are sewing and knitting hand-made lap quilts that every new resident will get when they move into their new home at Carriage Hill,” she said.
For more information about assisted living Portsmouth NH and Carriage Hill, visit www.carriagehillassistedliving.com).
About Carriage Hill Assisted Living
From the very start, Carriage Hill was designed to be a small assisted living facility that would offer intimate, highly individualized attention and a friendly, family style atmosphere in the style of true Yankee hospitality. Each of the 24 residents enjoys his or her own room and private bath with walk-in shower. For more information visit www.carriagehillassistedliving.com.