Mountain Springs - Family and Resident Testimonials

Aspen House Testimonials

On the morning of June 15th, one of our Elders passed away. Her family had been initially kind of challenging because they had a lot of anxiety over her care. She has been here for about two years, so they experienced the Eden journey with us. As we sat and visited after her passing, her daughter-in-law shared with me how thankful she is for all the changes made; specifically for the team approach to care and what a difference it made to her mother-in-law. She also talked a great deal about the “feel” of the community and how much it changed throughout her time here.

When the funeral home director came to pick up the Elder, he asked which door he should go out. I explained to him our philosophy of loving her and caring for her from admit through death and that celebrating her passing is a part of that process. We gathered all of the Elders in Aspen house in the shade of the porch.

As we put the Elder on the gurney to the van, we placed the “house blanket” over her and asked that her head be left uncovered. As we proceeded through the house, she was followed by her son (who helped push the gurney), her daughter in-law, staff members, Elders, and a volunteer who was here. Together we sang “Amazing Grace” all the way to the car. We paused for a moment to allow Elders to say goodbye, and then she left.

The family was so thankful for the fact that we continued to love and care for her all the way out of our community. They said they did not expect this to happen, but were so grateful. They are not having a service, as there is very little family left, and so they felt as if it was her service with “her family.”

Bristlecone House Testimonials

Having a pregnant House Director definitely has benefits in Bristlecone House! Annette Donnelly, House Director, discovered a mobile frozen yogurt truck and scheduled a visit to Mountain Springs!!! The truck had a dozen flavors of frozen yogurt to choose from and more than 20 toppings. All of the elders in Bristlecone house enjoyed this treat. Of course, they invited the other houses as well.

The bright pink truck was so eye catching that we even had staff members from the neighboring businesses come over for a treat as well. The truck was so fun and successful; she will be coming once per month for the summer.

Cedar House Testimonials

One mid-morning in June, the Elders of Cedar house joined the Elders of Aspen and Bristlecone houses for a walk. A few minutes into the walk, we noticed that an Elder in Cedar house, Sharon, and an Elder in Bristlecone house, Steve, kept looking at one another. Eventually, they began to talk and somehow the subject of where they were originally from came up. They soon discovered that they actually went to the same high school together in Central California! They have developed quite a friendship and Steve has put in a request to move to an available room in Cedar house so he can be closer to his friend. What a small world it really is!