By Jack Cumming

Tales of Sam Veltheim, Resident Director

Author’s Note: This is Part 4 in a fictional account of how one CCRC might have evolved with a different cultural focus. The series is unashamedly written from a resident’s perspective.

The story so far: The saga of Sam Veltheim and Resteasy Village continues. When we last left Sam Veltheim, he had convened an all-residents meeting at Resteasy CCRC to discuss an expansion opportunity presented by a land gift from a longtime local citizen in his mid-80s.

You’ll recall that Sam was chosen Executive Director of Resteasy, after some hesitation by the Board because Sam was a resident. Sam proved exemplary, and occupancy soared after the residents were made voting members in the Resteasy Village senior housing not-for-profit corporation.

In preparation for the all-residents meeting, Sam and Jim Kingsley, also a resident and a retired Wall Street financial leader, prepared a presentation to set the stage for discussion among the residents and to encourage imagination-sparking facilitation of all ideas, no matter how cockamamie, that might come to the fore.

At Jim’s urging and with the board’s backing, Sam had spoken with a partner at Adler Hirsch, a leading New York investment banking firm. That partner was Latisha Simpson, who was brought in after the board heard proposals from conventional senior housing tax-exempt bond originators, a development firm and its architects, and accountants who typically serve the not-for-profit CCRC industry.

Latisha flew in for the meeting to get a better feel for the situation on the ground. The resident participants were seated at discussion tables, with each table developing ideas to be assembled for consideration. Large Post-it notes were to be used for each idea. The ideas could then be sorted on a whiteboard at the front of the room.

Actually, that’s how Sam would have liked the meeting to have worked. But this is a fantasy, and the reality was somehow different. To encourage residents to listen to one another, Sam had organized the group into pairs. Each person was to share his or her ideas with a neighbor, who would write them on the large Post-it notes. The hope was to encourage residents to listen to and learn from one another, instead of just seeking confirmation of their own opinions. The quest of residents for self-importance can be a barrier to effective deliberation.

That mutual listening idea quickly broke down. “I know what I want to say,” Mike Thomas protested. “Why should I have to share it? I know what I want to say.” That seemed to strain the smooth running of what had been intended to help build consensus. The meeting became something of a free-for-all, and it was hard for Sam to keep it constructive. At times, it threatened to deteriorate into a shouting match.

Despite the seeming chaos, some common elements began to emerge. The Post-its were put on the wall, whether they were self-written or reflected a shared understanding. Residents were then asked to vote on the best ideas. Here are some of the more prevalent conclusions.

  • Residents wanted to be sure that their entrance fees were used prudently and not diverted from the fulfillment of their contracts.
  • Residents wanted easy access to the larger city, but they still wanted a safe, secure, age-friendly haven to which they could retreat.
  • Residents didn’t want the appearance or reality of institutionalization.
  • Residents welcomed the possibilities for new, on-site services that a larger-sized community could support.
  • Residents asked if economies of scale would make Resteasy Village more affordable.
  • Residents wanted the existing buildings renovated on par with the new structures.

In short, the residents brought forward many constructive ideas, and Latisha Simpson noted them all. Latisha also had some creative ideas of her own. Her focus was more on the financial aspects than on amenities. The residents wanted financial security but weren’t sure how to achieve it. That was where her expertise came in.

Next up: Latisha Simpson’s creative financial advice.

Disclaimer: In this story, and in other related tales of Resteasy Village, all names, characters, and incidents are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, businesses, or circumstances should be inferred.