By Michael Mager/Features Editor
Many local dignitaries were present Thursday for the grand opening of the Santa Fe Trails Assisted Living and Memory Care Community in Cleburne. Although the facility at 402 S. Colonial Drive had been serving a few residents for the past several days, the official opening was Thursday. Existing residents, complete with orchid corsages, helped staff workers and managers to feel welcome at the new unit.
“We wanted the place to have the feel of a comfortable, plush Texas retreat,” said Lisa Montgomery, Santa Fe Trails’ assistant director. “We wanted all the people who come to stay here to have the feeling that, while they are somewhat confined, that they don’t feel restricted. We want them to feel pampered.”
Montgomery, who has a great deal of experience working with elders stricken with memory loss, explained that the facility will consist of two units. One unit will house those who need some sort of physical assistance in their everyday lives, while the other, a separate but integrated program, will house those who are in need of assistance due to memory problems. Montgomery said outside of each room in the memory unit is a shadow box for the resident to fill in with memorabilia from his or her life.
Each room is set up much like a small apartment. In all, the facility has 60 rooms, 16 of which are set aside for memory-care patients.
“We have about 44,000-square-feet of space,” director Kathy Stanley said. “Many of the employees came here with me from my last position. In all, we have 20 employees, and they’re a fantastic group of people. They’re very hard-working and they love what they’re doing.”
Santa Fe Trails is the third such facility Irving-based Signature Senior Living LLC has built, chief operating officer Linda L. Martin said. The company has also acquired and is renovating two others.
“There’s an enormous need for places like this,” Martin said.
Four more are in various states of construction, including one that is soon to open in Mansfield and another in Nacogdoches.
“I don’t see our residents as my clients,” she said. “I see my employees as my clients and it’s my job to make sure they’re happy because if they are, everything else will fall into place.”
A walk through the facility is like walking through a swanky spa retreat. It has a whirlpool room, a screened in garden area, plush furniture around a huge, stone fireplace, a game room, an ice cream parlor and a beauty shop.
“Where do I sign up? I want to move in right now. Am I old enough?” asked Cathy Marchel, president of the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce.
Michael Mager can be reached at 817-645-2441, ext. 2338, or features@trcle.com.
