Team Administration: Tim Dressman and Vital Life

About 6 or 7 years ago I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Bill Witte speak at a conference regarding the coming perfect storm of the aging population. His ability to put into words what I was pondering already in my mind made it easy to approach him and share philosophies and ideas about how to serve the coming generation of baby boomers in the senior market, namely a focus on socialization and wellness. At the same time, St. Leonard was in the initial phases of master site planning for our campus and we engaged THW in the process. Using many of Mr. Witte’s ideas about aging and Vital Life, our master site plan came to fruition and now in 2011 we have completed the first phase and opened a new Wellness Center and expanded dementia facilities. We also completed certification as the first Vital Life Community in the United States. When we started the process a year and a half ago, I was honestly surprised but validated about the interest from our residents and staff. Since then the response to all the different programs has been overwhelming and continues to transform our campus and our community to aging well, enhancing the quality of life and deferring the need for high cost healthcare. I have been approached by at least 5 different senior living providers about the program and our blog has attracted the interest of 38 countries across the world. If that is not amazing and inspirational , I don’t know what is. I look forward to working together with the Vital Nation staff and Mr. Witte as we continue to invest in this program and measure its lasting effects on our own residents and staff and the promise of further including the overall community in the future.