After making the decision to move to Heritage Pointe of Warren, a senior living community providing a continuum of care as residents’ needs change, Julie and Fred Herron could not be happier.
A year and a half ago, they settled into a three-bedroom independent living villa, which provides a view of the community’s nine-hole golf course and easy access to a variety of other amenities and activities that have enhanced their lives.
No more upkeep
Previously, they’d lived in a single-family home about an hour away, but they were getting tired of its maintenance and upkeep.
“It was getting to be too much for us,” Julie, 73, says.
In addition, Fred, 75, had been diagnosed with a neuromuscular illness, which made having access to exercising in water very appealing to him.
Heritage Pointe of Warren has a therapeutic swimming pool that he uses regularly.
“I use the pool three days a week, depending on how I feel,” Fred notes.
Levels of care
The different levels of care—independent living, assisted living, memory care, rehabilitation, and health care—also were important to the couple who feel secure in knowing their health needs will be addressed if they change.
Fred is already taking advantage of some of those services provided on-site while continuing to live independently.
“I’m using in-house physical and occupational therapy,” he says.
Fred says Julie, who doesn’t like change in general, was more reluctant to relocate than he was, but the move has turned out to be a blessing for both of them.
“I said to her, ‘You’ll probably have more friends than I do, and she does. It’s really a big family,” Fred says.
They have both enjoyed getting to know the other residents.
“There are so many people who’ve had different occupations and life stories,” he says. “It’s a very diverse community, and you can have worthwhile, deep conversations with them.”
To Fred’s surprise, Julie didn’t take long to decide she would enjoy being at Heritage Pointe of Warren.
“After a week, she said, ‘I think I’m going to love it here’, and I thought I’d have a heart attack,” Fred says with a laugh.
Making a villa a home
The couple was able to customize their villa into a home that suits their needs and interests. They turned one room into a sewing room for Julie, who enjoys taking part in knitting and sewing groups at Heritage Pointe of Warren. They also had a pergola built by the community’s maintenance team on a concrete deck outside their home.
Without the costs of homeowners’ insurance, property taxes and home maintenance, Fred, a retired superintendent from Madison-Grant United School Corporation in Fairmount, Indiana, estimates that the couple has reduced their cost of living by moving to Heritage Pointe of Warren.
“Here it’s like, if you have a problem [related to maintenance], you make a call and it gets fixed,” Fred says.
Family ties
The Herrons also enjoy being closer to their grown children and grandchildren. Their daughter, Heather Herron, is a news anchor at WPTA-21 Alive in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
“We’re known here for being Heather Herron’s parents,” Fred notes.
The Herrons appreciate the Christian-based philosophy that’s followed at Heritage Pointe of Warren, which encourages a sense of family and unity.
“From the CEO on down, the staff here cares for us,” Fred says. “We’re a priority for them.”
