Lenbrook

A number of my fellow residents have asked me if I’m looking forward to completing my tenure as Lenbrook's Resident Association president at the end of June.  Frankly, I have mixed emotions.

There’s no doubt that this position is demanding and time consuming. Lenbrook has 500 residents and a very busy campus on 6.5 acres. I am certainly looking forward to having a lot more time to spend with myself and my wife, Lea.

We're located in the vibrant Buckhead district of Atlanta, where arts, culture, and world class dining are practically in our backyard. It's kind of tough to compete with all these services and venues. But we do. Here's a look at what goes into our secret sauce hospitality – The Lenbrook Way.

Flexible Menu of Choices, Master Our Craft

A truly wonderful couple in our community recently made the difficult decision to relocate to California to be closer to family. They were part of our family for six years. We will miss them immensely. Before moving, the husband penned a heartfelt letter to me describing why they loved Lenbrook so much. With his permission, I'd like to share part of it with you.

Searching for a Community ... Twice

In his letter, he wrote:

Remember the Food Guide Pyramid? Or maybe even the Food Wheel? Guess what ... the "Pyramid" is now a "Plate." In fact, it's called "My Plate". So what's up with this new guide for how to build a balanced plate for healthier living?

What is My Plate?

According to an article in Psychology Today, one of the major reasons people tend to stop exercising after recently starting an exercise routine is that they do not want to experience discomfort. After reading this article, it made me wonder whether this is the reason some residents are more hesitant than others to incorporate exercise into their everyday lives. Investigating further into this, I had conversations with several residents about this.

The one true certainty we have in this life is that it is unpredictable and anything, good, bad or otherwise, can happen. Additionally, “it” is not only defined by the passage of time. "It" can also be influenced by proactive planning or, on the flip side, lack of planning. Let's take a look at the "10 Tough Questions About Life Planning."

Being able to live your best life, in all stages of life, takes planning. And we're not just talking about planning for your golden retirement years, but also for your end-of-life needs and wishes, too.

Being a positive influence and having a positive impact is something one of our former Lenbrook board members, Glen Jackson of Jackson & Spalding, would frequently talk with us about.  I remember a time we were walking through his Midtown offices and I noticed that when we came across his team members he would always acknowledge them in some way, often with a meaningful statement. 

We've been intentional about integrating the "The Lenbrook Way" into every aspect of our operations this past year. It's been a time of exploring, defining and putting into action the behaviors and service standards essential to creating excellent experiences for our residents.

The present day surge of the "elder" population causes many to revisit their long-held beliefs on aging. A myriad of questions surface concerning how we would like the latter chapters of our lives to unfold, such as:

• Where will we live?
• How do I want to be treated?
• What do I fear the most?
• Will my latter years really be "golden" or "tarnished?"

For after all, we all know that where and how you live DOES matter.