When Brownsburg Meadows staff and other residents want to track down Barbara “Bobbie” Pollom, they first check the sign-out registry because most days Mrs. Pollom is out. She’s visiting friends and family, going to dinner, shopping, staying busy doing what she wants to do.
The 90-year-old, who turns 91 next month, is a resident of the Brownsburg Meadows Assisted Living community at 2 East Tilden Drive, and like many residents there, she has the freedom to come and go because all of the cleaning and cooking and other life chores are handled by the community.
“I do a lot of things. I play bridge twice a week, go out with my family and friends,” said Mrs. Pollom.
You’d never guess her age. “I have a cane,” she said, “but I just use it to twirl around. The people here have really worked me. I can’t say enough about their exercise program.”
A widow for more than a decade, Mrs. Pollom recently moved into Assisted Living apartments at Brownsburg Meadows and has found that this decision was a good one. Her children, all three Baby Boomers with children and grandchildren of their own, helped her get settled in the apartment. Her sons, Stephen and Daniel Pollom, are both doctors, and her daughter, Ann Weller, is married to a doctor, she said. Mrs. Pollom also has 10 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
In many cases, Baby Boomer Sandwich Generation members like the Pollom siblings, often find themselves having to make the tough decision of where a parent should live. But in the case of Mrs. Pollom, she made the choice herself, she said. She had lived in a condominium, but downsizing to an Assisted Living apartment has gone well, she said.
“It was the right thing to do and the best thing,” she said,
Mrs. Pollom is a native Hoosier. She grew up in Brazil, Indiana, graduated from the Indiana University School of Music (cello is her instrument) and spent a few years after graduation teaching music at Brazil-area schools.
Living in an Assisted Living community can help families feel comfortable that their loved one is not alone. At Brownsburg Meadows and other American Senior Communities locations, Assisted Living includes meals, nursing support and house cleaning help.
With the choices available today, moving your parents into a senior community is no longer a last resort, but a preferred choice.
When selecting a retirement home, there are several questions you should ask, and there are also some basic qualities that should be evident. Most importantly, the community and home should be safe and sanitary and able to meet your needs now and in the future.
The community should offer a variety of living choices to meet healthcare needs. That way the resident can remain at that community if additional nursing service is needed. For the independent retiree, make sure the home is maintenance-free with a variety of floor plan options that may include one or two-bedrooms.
What are the entry fees? Is a long-term commitment required? Assistance with medication and other needs should be available. Are meals included in the cost? What about laundry service? You should ask about social activities and scheduled transportation to shopping, restaurants and appointments.
This will be your home. You will want to make sure it is the home for you.
American Senior Communities is proud to have served fellow Hoosier for over a decade with premier services including Moving Forward Rehabilitation, Auguste’s Cottage Memory Care, Long Term Care, Hospice and Respite. New Energy Wellness, Garden Homes and Assisted Living are also available at select locations statewide. For more information about American Senior Communities, please visit www.ASCSeniorCare.com.
By EUNICE TROTTER
American Senior Communities
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