
by Mike Lee, Staff Writer
The Veraden is a new senior living center in Edmond offering independent living, assisted living and memory care, said Anita Kelley, Veraden spokeswoman. Assisted living with memory care has a separate community.
Residents are offered opportunities to engage in healthy lifestyles through nutrition and socializing with their peers. Residents particularly like the cityscape area of The Veraden that is among hills and trees.
âWe have an underground tornado shelter with a theatre, cafe and activity room with a fitness center and a certified trainer,â she said. The trainer leads exercises and demonstrates the proper use of equipment.
âWe have fitness equipment accompanied by elliptical training, a treadmill and free weights,â Kelley said.
Amenities at The Veraden include a heated swimming pool and hot tub. The second floor has a high-purpose room designed for snacks and a happy hour. Billiards and poker are available.
âIn the assisted living, they can use those areas as well. They also have two activity areas,â Kelley said. âBut one thing that makes our assisted living unique is we even have two bedroom apartments. A lot of assisted livings donât have that.â
Kelly said she loves that The Veraden hires according to what is needed for care.
âWe donât say weâve got five residents so we need one person. If we have five residents with a lot of needs and a lot of care, they weâre going to hire more of a team.â âSo our care associates help with bathing, dressing, and delivering medications. They are all certified nurse aides, certified med aides. Then we have an RN over the program and an LPN. So weâre covered Sunday through Saturday.â
Tonya Hodges serves as director of The Veraden. Hodges has been a licensed practical nurse for 10 years and began her career in senior communities.
âOnce seniors are in your heart, you donât go anywhere,â Hodges said. âItâs your calling. People have asked me over the years, âWhat is your dream job?â This is my dream job.â
âI wake up every day looking forward to changing their lives.â
Enriching the lives of residents is the staffâs goal at The Veraden. In doing so, the residents change the lives of The Veraden staff for the better, Hodges said.
âI love that weâre taking care of history,â Hodges continued. âWe have war veterans and folks who have made a difference in this community.â
A heart for caring is a hallmark of the care staff, Hodges said. That is a quality The Veraden looks for when hiring for senior care, she said.
The Veraden offers 142 apartments, but they already have a lot of residents. When coming to The Veraden, prospective residents have needs to be met.
Some of them have found it more difficult to cook for one person at home or to go pick up groceries. They may have begun skipping meals.
âSo with nutrition they want activity. They know theyâre sitting too much. They havenât been getting up and moving enough,â Kelley said.
Some of the people looking for a retirement community realize they have been watching television more than they once did.
Socialization at The Veraden is helpful when having a friend to share a cup of coffee or attend a poetry class.
Kelley said she is impressed by the extra mile the care team has gone to please the residents.
âOne lady loves spaghetti so we went and got spaghetti for her,â Kelley said. âThey went for an assessment in a different community and found that her apartment, especially around her chair in her apartment was real dirty, so they cleaned the carpet for her around the chair so it would be more comfortable for her and she could move here.
âThey just see things that we donât always see and spot things. I really appreciate that about them.â
On a recent weekend when an ice storm was in the forecast, the care team spent the night at The Veraden to make sure people received their medicine. The director of memory care spent the entire weekend with residents.
âThatâs really going above and beyond,â she said.
One of the residents told Kelly she had made a lot of promises before he moved to The Veraden.
âHe said, âI just want you to know you have gone above and beyond my expectations,ââ Kelley said. âI thought that was the best compliment. âAnother lady said, âThis is the best business decision I have ever made.ââ
Hodges said if they can change the lives of one senior every day, success has been made.
âMemory care is my passion, and itâs changing the moments, not the days, of our memory care residents,â she said. âI feel that we do that here. Our program is top-notch.
âI just got off the phone with a family. She said, âYouâve exceeded everything I ever thought you would be doing for my sister.â Itâs just changing their lives and changing the lives of their families.â