October 15, 2019 —The start of a new year always brings excitement and promises for what’s ahead. At Kendal at Lexington, 2019 is all about seeing many of our long-term projects and plans come to fruition.
As executive director and CEO Mina Tepper explains, 2019 will be a year focused on celebrating and preparing for the enormous changes to come. First off, 30 new cottages will be completed or near completion by the end of the year. This means wonderful new residents will be moving in, increasing the residential living population by more than 20 percent. The Dining Room expansion and renovation will be completed, and the Borden and Webster Centers will see almost all major construction work completed, with some finishing up in 2020. This will also mean easing the disruption on campus. “Right now, over 40 of our 84 acres are disturbed in some form of construction or another. There is an amazing amount of upheaval that includes renovating and expanding the Borden skilled nursing and the Webster assisted living centers, building the 30 new Sunrise Ridge cottages, and adding a new dining venue all simultaneously in some stage of the process,” she says.
And even though the residents have been patient with the construction, Mina knows the whole Kendal community will be pleased to see the various projects completed. “Having all this yammering and banging is not so pleasant to live through, but our residents have been incredible,” she says. “We are so grateful for their good spirits and positive attitudes.”
The public will soon also get a first look at some of the renovation progress in key buildings around campus. Along with local officials and businesses, the marketing department plans to invite residents on a “hardhat tour” to view the renovation and expansion of the Borden Health Center and Webster Assisted Living this summer.
With all of these exciting developments coming to completion, Kendal at Lexington’s strategic planning committee is already starting to think ahead to what’s next. “It takes a while from the time one starts thinking about possible future initiatives and the time when one clearly identifies and begins to implement new initiatives,” Mina explains. “We’ve already identified a couple of areas we believe we need to focus on, but we’re only at the starting point.” Kendal would like to work collaboratively to identify ways to make both Kendal and the greater Lexington community more “dementia friendly,” and to ensure the availability of healthcare services, especially as several prominent local primary care physicians approach retirement age. “We will need to find a way to meet the growing demand for quality, local services,” Mina says.
As always, Kendal is also constantly evaluating how to best serve the needs of residents or future residents — and how those needs are expected to change over the next several years. “The number of individuals who are aging in our marketplace is increasing, but they differ from those we have served previously,” Mina says. “Their life experiences and life expectations are different. So, we will explore, ask good questions and listen carefully so that Kendal is positioned to meet the needs of those we will serve.”
With new ideas formulating and long-term projects coming to a close, one thing’s for sure: it’s going to be a busy year around Kendal at Lexington.