PHOENIX (February 3, 2020)
Beatitudes Campus earns national Choice Community Award as an outstanding senior living community
Beatitudes Campus ranks in Top 15 percent for creating a culture of engagement and satisfaction
Beatitudes Campus was awarded the Choice Community Award in recognition of the strong culture of engagement by Holleran, the nation’s leading provider of actionable business intelligence for those organizations that serve older adults. This award places Beatitudes Campus in the Top 15 percent of the more than 700 communities that were surveyed nationwide.
“We are incredibly proud to earn the distinction of a Choice Community Award,” says Michelle Just, president and CEO of Beatitudes Campus. “It signifies that the campus is a place where engagement in the community is deeply felt, where residents are successfully aging and where employees are passionate. This award is confirmation that the campus is alive with the commitment to be a community that our residents and staff value.”
For a community to earn the “Choice Community Award,” it must be a cut above,” says Michelle Holleran, CEO. “To become a Choice Community recipient is to earn a distinction that is truly meaningful.”
The Choice Community Award recognizes organizations with strong cultures of engagement. Awards are granted by exceeding Holleran’s “Engagement Index” benchmark with a mean score of 85 or higher on a 100-point scale.
Holleran has the largest benchmark of its kind, measuring both resident and employee engagement in the senior living space. Currently, the benchmark comprises more than 160,000 resident and employee surveys conducted nationwide. “This enables organizations to compare their performance to their peers, whether they are across the road or across the country,” says Holleran.
Beatitudes Campus annually commissions the research firm of Holleran to measure the many areas of engagement from our staff and residents. The most recent survey was conducted in late October. “The campus conducts the Holleran resident and employee and resident engagement surveys in tandem because we believe that a strong connection between employee and resident exists, says Just. “After all, the people who live here and people who work here make up the beautiful tapestry that is Beatitudes Campus.”
About Beatitudes Campus:
Founded in 1964, Beatitudes Campus is a not-for-profit life plan community offering a wide spectrum of services for older people including independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory support and home health services. The campus has served more than 17,000 older adults since it began. The campus uses a resident-focused approach to provide the most successful living experience possible; resident empowerment and purposeful living is everyone’s primary concern.
Contact:
Barbara Wood
Beatitudes Campus | 1610 W. Glendale Ave. | Phoenix, Arizona 85021
Ph: 602-995-6136
https://facebook.com/BeatitudesCampus
A Wonderful Time Of Year At Beatitudes Campus: Connecting, Learning, & Giving Back
More than any other time of the year, the holidays feel like they’re made for families, connecting with neighbors and friends, and bringing joy to children. At Beatitudes Campus, you’ll find a big, intergenerational family eager to share friendship and laughter.
Throughout the holidays, we host special activities and events that encourage the feeling of community and connection. You can join in holiday celebrations, attend worship services, and make holiday gifts in the art studio and woodworking shop.
I’m sure you know that connecting with today’s younger generations means having to be tech-savvy. Are you proficient at texting? Do you know how to use FaceTime and Skype? At Beatitudes Campus, our Lifelong Learners program features technology classes to help you build your skills with computers, tablets, smartphones, texting, email, video calls, and more. That way, even if you’re hundreds of miles away during the holidays, you can still feel like you’re next door to your loved ones.
Want to connect with the younger generation during the holidays and all year long? Here are some quick tips:
- Share time in the kitchen.
Pick a casual day with little expectations and a recipe that takes time. Few memories are more powerful than cooking and enjoying good food with a loving family. - Host a game night.
Game nights are generally popular among the younger set. Order pizza or their favorite takeout food. Let them help plan the evening of charades, cards, video games, and board games, including those that can be played with teams such as Pandemic and Codenames. If you’re up for it, ask teens and twenty-somethings to bring their games and be prepared for an evening of bawdy entertainment. - Attend their events.
Find out what’s happening in your young person’s life. Are they in a school musical, playing in a band or on a sports team, preparing for a science fair, or entering a spelling bee or debate contest? Show interest and pride in their activities and ask if you can attend their events. - Enlist their help on a project.
Play the grandparent card and ask for some assistance on a special project. Build a bookshelf, make holiday gifts or a family scrapbook, visit a Christmas tree farm, create a neighborhood Blessing Box, or shop for gifts for a charity that supports terminally ill kids or children in foster care or shelters. They’ll come away with warm memories of time well spent with you.
If you want to do some good during the season of giving or any time of the year, Beatitudes Campus makes it easy to get involved. Whatever your interest, you’ll likely find a program to match. You can volunteer your time and talents, and work side-by-side with people of all ages from Beatitudes Campus, as well as the local community.
Some residents read to children and tutor local students while others help families with English translation. You can help decorate the campus, organize a charity event or join the Buzy Bees in crafting, sewing, quilting, knitting, and crocheting winter essentials for kids and families. From visiting veterans and delivering holiday meals to homebound seniors, there are so many ways you can make a positive impact.
This holiday season, we invite you to learn more about how Beatitudes Campus helps connect people across the generations. Call us today at (602) 833-1358 or get in touch via contact form.
Cultivating Community Through Diversity
At a time when diversity feels under attack, Beatitudes Campus is a heartwarming, welcoming place open to everyone. Since our founding in 1965, we’ve nurtured an inclusive community that welcomes all people. Our friends and neighbors hail from around the globe, representing all walks of life’s journey.
We value every person regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation. This philosophy is so important to us that we’ve put it into words. You’ll find it on our website, posted around campus, and printed in our brochures and other materials.
See why it matters
Embracing diversity and inclusion ensures each individual in our community feels valued. A strong sense of connection and belonging encourages people to help each other, learn more, stay active, and feel more secure–all of which leads to higher satisfaction with life, healthier minds, and bodies. The latter link includes a wonderful infographic on the benefits of feeling connected by Dr. Emma Seppala at Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.
Follow your own path
Whether you look to the stars for heavenly inspiration or to marvel at the beauty of science, Beatitudes Campus offers a variety of programs that foster spiritual fellowship and lifelong learning.
You can choose from several types of worship services, religious classes, faith-based volunteer opportunities, pastoral care and counseling, and more. Broadly organized like a college curriculum, our Lifelong Learners program features nearly two-dozen non-credit courses each semester exploring art, history, science, foreign languages, and skill-building topics.
Express yourself
At Beatitudes Campus, we know that diversity isn’t limited to gender or race or sexual orientation. It’s about learning from each other’s perspective.
Here, you’ll find an array of ways to express yourself. Every week, we host what we call a Hootenanny. It’s an open mic night where everyone is welcome to come together to sing and play instruments in an all-out jam session. Residents also perform poetry, philosophize, and inspire the audience to think about the world around us.
If you like to advance new ideas, you’ll love the Design Studio Residents’ Think Tank. The Design Studio works with management and the Board of Directors to foster and create innovative resident-driven programs.
The management and staff at Beatitudes Campus firmly believe in ongoing communication, which is why you’ll find us in the community talking with residents virtually every day. From one-on-one conversations and resident council meetings to Newcomers Coffee events, we’re out and about more than we’re behind our desks. When you get a chance, tell us what you think. We want to hear it.
Share our vision
If you want to live in a community with heart, that’s open and welcoming, and that values you for who you are, we invite you to come for a visit. To schedule lunch and a personal tour, give us a call at (602) 833-1358.
By Rodney D. Bailey, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing
At Beatitudes Campus, service to others isn’t just our philosophy; it’s in our DNA. In 1965, our founders envisioned a senior living community devoted to the needs and preferences of older adults and their families. They fostered a welcoming, engaging, vibrant place to retire that instilled an atmosphere of respect and honor for its residents. An innovative concept at the time, their promise continues to influence everything we do today.
While others may talk about exceptional service, the staff at Beatitudes Campus live it. We’re devoted to making your world a little brighter, solving your challenges, and bringing more opportunities your way. Perhaps the difference isn’t simply being better at serving others, it’s knowing that those we serve are not “customers” or “clients.” For us, we’re serving our friends and neighbors.
You’ll hear plenty of stories from Beatitudes Campus residents who’ll tell you about how our chef makes wonderful meals to everyone’s liking, how quickly our maintenance team responds to requests, and how much they appreciate the golf cart shuttle across campus. I’m most proud of the out-of-the-ordinary actions we take every day that pleases a single person or couple–something no one else may ever see. To me, that’s truly going above and beyond.
Greater Heights in Retirement
One of my favorite examples is when a couple moved in with a large totem pole. Having purchased it on their honeymoon, it was a sentimental treasure. However, at the last minute on moving day, they realized the ceiling wasn’t high enough to accommodate the tall statue. On that Friday evening, the Beatitudes Campus staff quickly came together to find a solution. They did–another apartment with higher ceilings. The couple moved in as planned, and continued to enjoy the beautiful souvenir of their honeymoon.
Tea Lover
Oftentimes, exceptional service shows up in small ways. One of our residency counselors was talking with a prospective community resident who requested hot tea, which we were out of at the moment. She enjoyed the conversation and scheduled a follow-up appointment. For the prospective resident’s second visit, the residency counselor had the gift shop manager create a gift basket with herbal teas and a ceramic cup with the words “Tea Lover.” She loved the gift and added her name to our apartment reservation list. The small gift was a thoughtful reminder that we’re always listening.
Smart TV
For some residents at Beatitudes Campus, a small adjustment can solve big challenges and bring huge benefits. A Korean-American family liked the idea of their mother moving to Beatitudes Campus. However, they all were concerned about her limited ability to speak English. After their father passed away, their mother had spent more time with other Korean women, which reduced her second language skills. The family suggested that Korean television programs would give her the comfort she needed to make the move.
Beatitudes Campus was in the process of converting to DIRECTV®, which didn’t include a Korean channel. We brought together an entire team–our move-in coordinator, senior vice president of sales and marketing, chief financial officer, residency counselor, and most importantly, our IT specialist and DIRECTV® representatives–to brainstorm how to help this prospective resident. We discovered that she could stream a Korean channel with a smart TV. Our staff made it happen.
Today, the resident is happy, thriving, and rediscovering her skills when it comes to speaking English as she meets new people and enjoys activities on campus.
The Right Fit
One of Beatitudes Campus’ greatest strengths is the open and welcoming community. Diversity brings a wonderful exchange of ideas and cultures. It helps all of us–staff and residents alike–feel supported and connected.
Older adults who have lost a spouse often feel isolated and forgotten. Being around others who understand their feelings and share in their interests, can help create that sense of belonging again.
A lovely lady whose husband had passed away had retreated inward. Grief over his death along with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorders made it challenging to socialize and stay active.
We heard from the lady’s financial advisor that she was interested in moving to a senior living community. Sadly, it was virtually impossible for her to make it through other community tours because of the toll the stress took on her.
Christy Marlowe, one of our residency counselors, agreed to meet with the lady and her financial advisor to talk about Beatitudes Campus. From here, I’ll let Christy, share what happened next.
“She was nervous and taking deep breaths. I learned that she attended support meetings. Once I mentioned we host weekly support meetings on campus, it was like a door opened. I told her about our Success Matters program with Jessica Myers, Director and Occupational Therapist, and Josephine Levy, Resource Navigator, assuring her that our priority is her safety and success as a resident. I invited her back to meet Jessica and take a tour of the apartments. This time, the woman was relaxed and excited. She was ready for a new beginning with the help of Beatitudes at Home, one of our support groups, in addition to companion care, activities, and opportunities that would allow her to start socializing again on her terms. I’m delighted to say she moved to our community 30 days later and is doing exceptionally well.”
As you can see, serving our friends and neighbors is our mission and our joy. We love going above and beyond every time. We invite you to see if Beatitudes Campus in Phoenix, AZ is the right retirement community for you. To schedule a visit, call us at 602.910.2795. We’re always delighted to share more great stories like these.