As we turn the page from one calendar year to the next, we want to take a look back at some of our highlights from the past year. Here are 20 that made the list:
- A video designed to encourage lawmakers to protect Medicaid funding for frail older adults featured two residents of Heritage Woods of South Elgin affordable assisted living and memory care. The “Chuck and Cathy: A Love Story” video was produced by the American Healthcare Association and National Center for Assisted Living.
- With the opening of five new communities and the expansion of an existing community, Gardant now manages nearly 4,800 assisted living, senior living and memory care apartments.
The new communities are:
Belvedere of Merrillville– 126 affordable assisted living apartments
Heritage Woods of Minooka– 102 affordable assisted living apartments
Montclare of Lawndale– 120 affordable assisted living apartments
Silver Birch of Hammond– 125 affordable assisted living apartments
White Oaks of McHenry– 40 memory care apartments
- The expansion project at Heritage Woods of Huntley was completed. The community now features 81 assisted living and 30 memory care apartments. Also completed was the renovation of Eagle’s View in Rantoul. The community features affordable assisted living and memory care apartments that operate through the Illinois Supportive Living program.
- Eleven new communities slated to be managed by Gardant, housing more than 1,400 assisted living and memory care apartments, are under construction in Indiana, Minnesota and Ohio.
- Five Gardant-managed communities celebrated 10th Anniversaries:
Prairie Living at Chautauqua in Carbondale
- Gardant was honored as the 2017 Property Manager of the Year by the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
- Jennifer Bishop, Director of Nursing for Heritage Woods of Plainfield, was awarded by 2017 Strive and Thrive award by Leading Age Illinois.
- Pauline Moore, a resident of Heritage Woods of Centralia, was the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition’s (AALC) 2017 Centenarian Contest winner.
- Two residents of Deer Path of Huntley, Karen Moneyhon and Margie Wade, were winners of the AALC’s Best of Our Abilities contest.
- Heritage Woods of Mt. Vernon won the Vernon Register’s 2017 Peoples’ Choice Award for Best Assisted Living community.
- Gardant-managed communities took the top three spots in the annual Testimonial Contest sponsored by AALC.
First Place Cambridge House of O’Fallon
Second Place Prairie Winds of Urbana
Third Place Heritage Woods of Flora
- Yvonne Peterson, Director of Marketing for Heritage Woods of Rockford, was honored by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce as the 2017 Woman Manager of the Year.
- A “Who Said You’re Too Old to Dance” video from Eagle Ridge of Decatur went viral.
- Heritage Woods of Freeport was named one of the top employers of the year by the Freeport Journal-Standard
- Cambridge House of O’Fallon was recognized with a Belleville News-Democrat 2017 Readers’ Choice as one of the best retirement communities in the area.
- Gardant CEO Rod Burkett was featured in The Leadership Series produced by Senior Housing News and PostClickCare.
- Rick Banas of Gardant was a finalist for a 2017 WEGO Health Award in the Best in Show: Twitter category.
- Gardant-managed communities dominated the AALC 2017 Spelling Bee and Wii Bowling contests:
Spelling Bee
First Place Prairie Living at Chautauqua
Second Place Deer Path of Huntley
Fourth Place St. Anthony of Lansing
Wii Bowling
Second Place Heritage Woods of Batavia
Third Place Heritage Wood of Charleston
Fourth Place Prairie Living at Chautauqua in Carbondale
- The Cupid’s Couple Photo from Heritage Woods of Charleston took Third Place in the AALC’s annual Photo Contest.
- Two Gardant-managed communities, Heritage Woods of Benton and Prairie Living at Chautauqua, were in the path of the total solar eclipse that occurred on Aug. 21.
