October 15, 2019
Kendal at Lexington Population: Q & A
[Editor’s note: this article appeared in the January,
2014 issue of (the Residents’) newsletter, and there have been
several requests for a reprint. The information has
been updated where necessary.
People are curious about Kendal, and these
are some of the questions we Kendalites are
asked as we wander about the world. Could
you use a brush-up on the answers?
How many people live at Kendal?
The exact total may vary from day to day, but a ball park
figure would be around 240. (See below for a
more detailed tally.) Residents live in cottages
or apartments (Independent Living), in the
Webster Center (assisted living) and in the
Benjamin Borden Center (skilled nursing care),
Some are contract residents and some are per
diem residents.
What is the difference between a contract
resident and a per diem resident?
Contract residents pay an entry fee, based on the size of
their cottage or apartment in the Independent
Living sector, plus a monthly fee. Most contract
residents have lifecare agreements, while
others have modified agreements. Modified
agreements often pair well with a resident’s
long-term-care insurance policy. Non-contract
per diem residents in Webster (assisted living)
are all private pay.
Non-contract Borden residents’
fees may be paid by Medicare, private
insurance, Medicaid, or private pay.
Both Webster and Borden take care of
residents that need help.
How is Webster different from Borden?
The Webster Center (assisted living), with twenty studio apartments,
is located in the main building and has its own
entrance, accessible from Springlot Drive, as
well as an interior entrance adjacent to the
Anderson lobby.
Contract residents have priority
in the assignment of these apartments. They
may move permanently from their Independent
Living residences to Webster, or they may come
to Webster for a short stay and then return to
their usual cottage or apartment. Depending on
the availability of Webster apartments, a limited
number of outside admissions for non-contract
per diem residents can be accommodated.
And what about Borden? The Benjamin
Borden Center is a 60-bed skilled nursing care
facility serving the Rockbridge area, not just
Kendal residents. It has a separate main entrance,
not far from the entrance to the Anderson
Center lobby and on the same circular
drive, and is also connected to the main building
by an interior corridor. Some Borden residents
have come for a short stay — after surgery, for
example. (Borden offers rehabilitation therapy
both on an in-patient and an out-patient basis.)
Other Borden residents are long-term. The
majority of Borden residents are per diem. As
of late November, seven former Independent
Living and/or Webster residents are living permanently
in Borden. However, contract residents
often spend a few days or weeks in Borden before
returning to their cottages or apartments.
How many Independent Living cottages are
there?
Kendal has 65 cottages. Thirty-five of these, completed in 2008, are located on Sycamore Lane and range in size from 1300 to 2000
square feet, plus basements in some cases;
each has an attached garage. Twenty-nine
cluster cottages were completed between 2000
and 2005. These are 795 to 1600 square feet
in size and are located nearer the main building
than the Sycamore Lane cottages. Another cottage,
dating from the nineteenth century and
thought to have been the summer kitchen of
Sunnyside House (the property’s original farmhouse,
now restored), can only be categorized
as unique.
And how many Independent Living apartments?
There are 55 apartments, all in the
main building, ranging in size from 550 square
feet (studio) to 1725 square feet (two bedrooms
with den). All but one have a patio or balcony,
many of which are screened or enclosed.
How many residents currently occupy Independent
Living cottages or apartments?
As of late November, 168. Roughly a third of
these are in two-person households; the rest
are singles.
What residences are available right now?
As we go to press, Kendal has two apartments,
both one-bedroom, that are neither occupied
nor reserved.
How many households are on Kendal’s wait
list?
As of late November, 148 households
(double or single) are on the wait list. Sixteen of
these have joined since this past May. The majority
of wait list members live in or near Lexington,
but others live in New England, New York,
Ohio, Texas . . .
Does being on the wait list guarantee a place
at Kendal just at the time you’re ready to
move?
No. Kendal is experiencing a high
demand, so it’s important to plan ahead. If you
need to make a quick move, you may have to
settle for something smaller, or there may be no
availability at all. Stay in touch with the Marketing
Department with regard to your timeline.
When signing onto the wait list, how specific
do you need to be about the type of residence
you want?
There’s a lot of leeway. For
instance, you could ask to be notified when
either a two-bedroom or a one-bedroom-withden
unit becomes available. You need not
specify “cottage” or “apartment” if you would
consider either. And you can make a change in
your preference at any time by contacting the
Marketing Department.
When a residence becomes available, is
everybody on the wait list notified?
No. The wait list is divided into active and non-active
components. You won’t be bothered if you don’t
want to be. However, the Marketing Department
encourages people to communicate if
they have changes in their lives, preferences,
or timing.
What is the order in which active wait list
members are notified of an available residence?
Active wait list members are notified
according to the order in which they first made a
wait list deposit, whether active or inactive at
that time.
— by Jo McMurtry (Resident)
Published in the December 2015 Residents’ Newsletter
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