By Steve Moran

It is said that nothing bad ever happens to a preacher or a writer because even the bad stuff, or maybe especially the bad stuff, becomes a story worth telling.

For instance, a couple of weeks ago — I have to warn you this will sound terrible — I was in Nashville for an Abe’s Garden board meeting. My Lyft ride in a tricked out Jeep something from the hotel to the community was a bit of an adventure. It just never quite felt safe. We pulled up in front of the community with the front sliding glass doors about 15 feet in front of the Jeep and my driver jumped out to get my bags from the back.

This was all well and good, except she forgot to put the car in park and it started to roll toward the front door. I yelled. She made it back and stopped the car in time to avert disaster.

Here is the bad part . . . That tiny little storytelling part of my brain told me the story would have been so much better if I had not yelled and the car had crashed into the building.

This Has Something to Do With Something

I love visiting senior living communities. Some of those visits have been terrible, making for stories that are teachable moments for readers, and others have been amazing, meaning they are their own kind of teachable moments.

A few months ago Denise Boudreau-Scott and I took a little field trip to visit a senior living community in Utah. Here are some photos, now you tell me what kind of community this is.

The Big Reveal

The last picture might give it away, but this is a nursing home located just outside of Park City, Utah. And now you may be thinking, Oh, yeah, for the wealthy, maybe part of a CCRC. I don’t blame you about the wealthy part because I thought the same thing. But it turns out it is a freestanding nursing home where 70% of residents have their care paid for by Medicaid.

It is the brainchild of Dee Bangerter, the founder of Rocky Mountain Care out of Salt Lake City and one of the most creative, inventive leaders in senior living.  

My Hope

It can be easy to think it will never get better, that we can’t figure this stuff out, or even that all leaders really care about is profit. I am fortunate to be able to interact with leaders who are doing amazing things and they inspire me. I hope they inspire you.