New this year, The Neighborhood House is offering short stays, be they a week, two weeks, a month, or longer, on a space-available basis. The logic and benefit of short stays are that they can enable families to bring an older family member needing specialized care when on holiday, when making a move, or in other situations when there is a need for short-term housing.

“We view it as a respite program for people who want to take a break,” said Richard “Rich” Rothstein, director of the Neighborhood House. “Also, for people who have unexpected medical needs, usually someone who is a caregiver for an elderly parent, and they get sick, we provide them the ability to place their elderly parent so they can attend to their own needs. We have had people who had unexpected surgery and have wanted a short-term place that can provide housing and professional for their loved ones; their experience inspired us to establish this program.”

The Neighbor House’s new short-term initiative was tested by Ann-Charlotte Dobbs, an 87-year-old Canadian brought down by her daughter, my partner, Renee, for a week in July. Ann, Renee and I discovered and appreciated that the Neighborhood House has a big heart. Ann felt so welcomed by her fellow residents and the staff that she hated to leave at week’s end.

Renee initially planned to have her mother spend most days and dinners with us, but Ann was having such a wonderful time that within a few days, her response was: “Are you crazy? I don’t have time for that, plus I want to have dinner here.”

In Montreal, Ann is a resident of a bright and spacious medium-sized facility that provides excellent patient care. Like many facilities, the staff size is modest, and because of the layout, residents are a bit spread out. The Neighborhood House is less than a quarter of the size, and, by comparison, very intimate. In addition, for the residents getting outside is simple, with many, in the summer, spending much of time of the front porch. In Montreal, it requires going down an elevator and a bit of a distance to the front door. Once out, residents must pass through a parking lot before reaching a park-like setting.

At the Neighborhood House, the Noonmark Diner, Keene Valley Library, Congregational Church, and Ausable Inn, are all accessible and close by. For residents who love to fish, the East Branch of the Ausable River is out back. The atmosphere is a bit funky, illustrated by a large portrait of hospital founder Dr. Goff in his hunting gear in the lobby above a large fish tank. The hallways feature works of art provided by High Peaks artists.

“Ann was our first test case, and we felt it worked out very well,” said Rothstein. “We identified ways of improving our client intake for those coming from out of the region where a face-to-face isn’t possible or practical. We had to make some ad hoc changes, but they were easy to facilitate, and everything worked out. The staff all loved Ann, she made friends easily, and we hated to see her go.”

Another feature Ann experienced as different from her more urban facility is that most of the staff multitasked, whereas, in a larger facility, most staff members have a specific job. This approach, which resulted in a high degree of interaction between Ann and nearly all staff members, enabled Ann to get to know and feel comfortable with the staff more quickly, and they to know her.

“Having Ann here was fantastic,” said Tori Reynolds. “I’ve never met a person quite like her before, and I’ve been working here for six years. We love her energy; she came out of her shell within a couple of days. She told me that she wanted to come back. The residents are still asking about her. She fit right in. We felt it was a great first test of this program; it worked well.”

Reynolds said she likes working at the Neighborhood House, likes that she gets to interact with the clients in a variety of ways, and likes the family-oriented atmosphere. Reynolds said it’s very homelike and that she loves coming to work.

Nearly all residential facilities market their sense of community, essentially the community of those living or working at the venue. At the Neighborhood House, the resident’s community includes the people of Keene, which on Wednesdays in the summer features hanging out with kids from the Keene Youth Commission’s summer program.

“If you look at the marketing materials of all other care facilities, they talk about their community,” said Rothstein, “But it’s a word, not a practice, ‘Come join our community.’ At the Neighborhood House, we are in the community. Today we have 40 children visiting; we welcome them for special events like Halloween, picnics on the lawn, and popcorn socials. We have family members who come here every day.”

“Socialization is important for all people, especially older people, because they get lonely,” said Quinn Herringshaw. “We encourage connecting people so they don’t feel alone; it’s essential when living away from their families. Plus, it makes them happy. New for Ann and us were our cultural differences. I offered a snack one day, and she didn’t know what it was; it turned out that we used different packaging. In Canada, they serve milk in bags and use small cartons.”

“The residents like being able to across the street to the church, or over to the Library or the Noonmark Dinner, the Inn, and Valley Grocery,” said Kristen Klingenberg. “I’ve been working here 13 years. I started as an aide, and now I coordinate activities. I like getting to know everybody, visiting with their families, and meeting new people like Ann, and I like taking care of the residents; they are so appreciative.”

As for Ann Dobbs, she loved the intimacy and enjoyed the food and company.

“I had a good time,” said Ann, “Everyone was very nice.” She also said she’d like to return and stay there permanently if she could.

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(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley. He has been covering events for the Lake Placid News for more than 15 years.)