As many of you have heard, parts of Vermont—including much of Montpelier—were recently affected by catastrophic storms and sustained flooding during the week of July 9. Due to flooding and subsequent damage to our living community’s basement and first floor, The Gary Residence will postpone new admissions for Residential Care until further notice. Applications for both Residential Care and Memory Care are still being accepted.

Thanks to the swift action of our dedicated team, all of our residents were safely evacuated on Monday, July 10 and have since been relocated to transitional living situations. Unfortunately, the damage to our basement is extensive and repairs will be needed to move electrical and fire panels to the first floor, which may take up to 16 weeks.

Until we can safely move residents back into the building, The Gary Residence is unable to plan for and accept new admissions for Residential Care only. However, we are still accepting applications to join the waiting list for the future re-opening in the fall.

We are currently working with FEMA, our insurance broker, and our construction team to ensure the repairs will be completed thoroughly and as quickly as possible.

Clara’s Garden Memory Care, which is currently under construction, has not sustained any flood damage and is still slated to open in October of 2023. We are currently accepting applications for Memory Care residents.

The Gary Residence phone lines will be re-routed to Westview Meadows effective immediately. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dawn Palowski, Executive Director, at (802) 279-3737.

The Gary Residence has recently adopted the groundbreaking and uplifting Best Friends™ method for caring for people with memory loss with the certification of our Executive Director Dawn Palowski as a Best Friends™ Certified Master Trainer (BF-CMT). Dawn recently completed her BF-CMT certification, demonstrating a commitment to providing high quality memory care.

The Best Friends™ approach is a person-centered, compassionate approach to caring for those affected by various forms of memory loss. It is grounded in the understanding that relationships are supremely important in memory care and that they require the essential elements of friendship: respect, empathy, support, trust, and humor. With Best Friends™, the focus is on the individual—the person’s rights, history, and relationships with all care partners. This internationally recognized approach improves the quality of care for memory care residents in any setting. More information can be found at bestfriends.healthpropress.com.

As a Certified Master Trainer, Dawn will lead The Gary Residence staff by ensuring their ongoing, sustainable professional development in this person-centered care philosophy.

On Thursday, September 15, we celebrated the groundbreaking of Clara’s Garden, Vermont’s newest memory care program located at The Gary Residence, and slated to open in fall of 2023.

Dawn Palowski, Executive Director of O.M. Fisher Home (nonprofit sponsor of Westview Meadows and The Gary Residence), emceed the event, introducing speakers Nancy Martin, board president, and the project’s head architect from GBA Architecture and Planning. Grand Senior Living consultants and other representatives from partner organizations were also in attendance as we celebrated the start of construction on the newest addition to our residential care facilities.

This new addition has been carefully and thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of family members living with memory loss in a safe, structured, and home-like environment. The new unit will provide private and semi-private apartments for up to 18 residents with 24/7 specialized care, allowing family members dignity and comfort while aging in place.

We thank all attendees of the event and supporters of Clara’s Garden as we look forward to filling the gaps for Vermonters with memory loss, a currently underserved population.

For more information about Clara’s Garden or the groundbreaking ceremony, please contact:

Dawn Palowski
(802) 223-1068

Congratulations to Amira Drljacic for her award from the Vermont Health Care Association, take a look at this great article on her!

War Survivor Amira Drljacic Wins Housekeeper of the Year Award

The Gary Residence staff getting “hands on” training to better understand what everyday life is like for someone with Dementia.
A big thank you to The Arbors at Shelburne for the training and helping better educate the staff on this important subject.

Dementia is a syndrome, usually of a chronic or progressive nature, caused by a variety of brain illnesses that affect memory, thinking, behavior and ability to perform everyday activities.

The number of people living with dementia worldwide is currently estimated at 47 million and is projected to increase to 75 million by 2030. The number of cases of dementia are estimated to almost triple by 2050.

Dementia is overwhelming not only for the people who have it, but also for their caregivers and families. There is a lack of awareness and understanding of dementia in most countries, resulting in stigmatization, barriers to diagnosis and care, and impacting careers, families and societies physically, psychologically and economically.