Richmond Hill Puts the “Active” in Senior Living

“Our seniors are really active here!” says Tarlessa Edwards, Activity Director at Magnolia Manor on the Coast in Richmond Hill. And for good reason. The setting offers plenty to keep our independent and assisted living residents busy. There are walking trails, access to fishing, exercise facilities, a café, a media center, a library, an in-house salon, and a chapel, all surrounded by beautiful, wooded acreage.

Off campus, the towns of Richmond Hill and nearby Savannah offer lots of opportunities for residents to venture out to enjoy themselves.

Putting the “Active” in Senior Living

Tarlessa is responsible for creating activities and encouraging community involvement. She is a relatively new addition to the Richmond Hill family, but she brings ten years of experience working to show seniors a good time. Her motto: “If we’re not having fun, what are we doing?”

Tarlessa says her job is to ensure that the quality of life at Richmond Hill is great. On arrival, she surveyed residents to learn what they wanted. She did her homework and brought new activities she knew from past experience would be well-received. But she is learning new things, too. While bingo and trivia are popular onsite activities, residents also introduced her to Pokeno, a card-based game that combines elements of poker and bingo.

“They love it like they love bingo,” she laughs, noting that the Pokeno group keeps getting bigger and bigger.

But there’s more to do than play games. For example, coming on strong for spring is gardening, and there is a committee to help plan. Many Richmond Hill residents did gardening in the past, so they are especially excited to get their hands dirty and get busy planting flowers. Tarlessa says this is a good example of creating events that cater back to what residents used to do before moving to Magnolia Manor. “You can still do it, keep loving and enjoying it!”

Looking for Reasons to Celebrate

Tarlessa loves to bring residents together to celebrate. “If there is a major holiday in the world,” she says, “then it’s a major holiday at Magnolia Manor!”

In May, residents enjoyed a beautiful Mother’s Day celebration that brought families and, especially, grandchildren, to campus. In June, families again joined their loved ones on campus to celebrate Father’s Day, with the guys getting all the attention.

And then there are birthdays! The monthly Birthday Bash honors everyone whose birthday falls in that month. “If it happens at birthday parties, it happens here,” Tarlessa says. Prizes, gifts, guests, dancing – you get the picture. But Tarlessa especially likes to focus on milestones, so she is coordinating with families for two very special upcoming birthday celebrations. “One young lady is turning 100,” she reveals, “and another is turning 104.”

Residents Create Their Own Activities

Supper Club and Breakfast Club are social outings where residents can chit-chat in a family-like atmosphere over a tasty restaurant meal. Each group meets once a month, on rotating days. Residents who want to participate get together and decide where to go. Then Tarlessa helps them coordinate with campus transportation, and off they go. During their meal, they decide where to go next.

Richmond Hill offers great restaurants, and of course, Savannah is very close by. Tarlessa says the groups always make good choices. Love’s Seafood Restaurant, Snazzy, Omelette Café, and All Things Chocolate are some of their favorites.

Getting out into the community allows residents to capture moments like they used to have when socializing in public or with family. Many go for both breakfast and dinner. And with faithful participants encouraging others to join in, the groups just keep growing.

Always Something New to Do

Tarlessa is planning new types of outings, such as working with transportation to do a trolley tour of historic places.

Since activities are all about the residents, she stays in touch with them for ongoing input. “We’re family here,” she notes, “so how residents feel and what they want matters most.” She gets plenty of suggestions and implements as many as possible. One good example? After-Hours Socials on the weekends.

Another? Swap Shop. A resident mentioned to Tarlessa that lots of people have nice things they no longer use that others might like, so she proposed an event where everyone would bring these things and swap them. It’s been a huge success. There are “vendor” tables for item display, refreshments, and music. Everyone in the building, independent and assisted living residents, is invited to attend. Tarlessa says she feels so privileged to help bring that idea to life.

And then there’s the “Mag Store.” Tarlessa created “Mag books,” which serve as money that residents can use to purchase items at the store. This is a real plus for those who can’t get out on their own to shop as they might like. The store offers everything from toiletries, paper products, and other household necessities to jewelry and books. It’s another experience residents can enjoy each week on top of all the other scheduled events.

Tarlessa personally thanks each person who comes to shop and asks about additional items they’d like to see. Caffeine-free Pepsi? Sure!

Moving to a senior living community may be the better choice after all. The realities of aging in place can add up to more than you can comfortably handle, and you may eventually have to move anyway if your needs change significantly.

What Makes Richmond Hill Such a Lively Community?

“This is a family atmosphere,” Tarlessa notes. “We listen to each other, and we love on each other.”

If reading about Tarlessa's Swap Shop, Mag Store, Birthday Bashes, and resident-led dining clubs has you wondering what life at Magnolia Manor on the Coast is really like day to day, the best way to find out is to come see it for yourself. Active, connected, community-driven senior living is what we do — and we'd love to show you around. Schedule a tour at your convenience, or give us a call at 855-540-LIFE (5433). We'd love to welcome you!