When our mom, and dad, Mary and John Mackey, were looking to move into senior housing, they were impressed with the beautiful campus that houses Wintergreen, CCH and Pine Ridge. They moved into a nice apartment with a fireplace, its own laundry, a beautiful scenic few, and a large window that provided a great deal of natural sunlight. When they moved in, they were relatively new to Hudson, after moving here from Biwabik, MN to be closer to kids and grandkids. They didn’t know a single person that lived in the apartments. That soon changed as they were assigned a mentor who introduced them to other people and showed them the “lay of the land”. It wasn’t long before they were participating in Friday evening Bingo, watching movies on Saturday evenings, and attending summer barbeques and outdoor concerts. When they both decided it was time to give up driving, they were still able to get to the grocery store or Target/Wal-Mart simply by taking the campus van when a family member couldn’t take them. And they were able to get their haircut when needed, without ever leaving the building.
When our dad needed to go to transitional care after having surgery, he was able to go to CCH, where our mom could easily walk over to visit him every day. A few years later, after our dad passed away, our mom threw herself into all that Wintergreen had to offer. She became a mentor to help those new to the building and she filled her days with morning coffee, bingo, happy hour, and many, many (many!) card games. There was so much for her to do at Wintergreen that she was often busier on the weekend than her kids and grandkids!
She made many great friends during her years at Wintergreen, and the staff there is wonderful. Many of them gave her a warm greeting when they would pass in the hallways and seemed to really care how she was doing. Lisa, who cut her hair, always made her feel so valued as a person and listened intently as Mom bragged about all her grandkids. The maintenance staff was there to fix anything that needed fixing, and to help when she couldn’t figure out why her TV or phone wasn’t working. Whenever something needed attention, she would tell us that Jeff could fix anything “just like that”, as she snapped her fingers. The office staff was always available to answer her questions or listen to her concerns, and they did it with great kindness and warmth. Most comforting to us, Mary’s family, was that, with the touch of a button, the nursing staff was there to help her anytime she fell. Again – this was usually done promptly, and with great compassion.
After having a stroke recently our mom needed to go to transitional care, and she too was also able to go the CCH. At that time, many facilities were full or didn’t have the staff to take on more patients. However, because our mom already lived on campus, she was accepted at CCH and received wonderful care there. As she had easily walked over to visit our dad years earlier, her friends were now able to walk over and visit her frequently during her time there and this really brightened her day.
Our mom loved her life at Wintergreen, and she was truly happy there.
Sincerely,
-The Family of Mary Mackey-
