Written By Ruth Ann Ruiz
Features Editor
Dexter Guice found his calling years ago when he first entered a nursing home. He knew then that he wanted to work with our aging population, and so he has. For decades now, he has worked in nursing home administration.
But he yearned to provide a more personalized experience for seniors. He wanted a place where seniors could live as independently as possible and yet receive the assistance they needed from caring, attentive professionals.
From his quest for a personalized living situation for seniors grew Victorious Assisted Living facility in Santa Fe. Because of his vision, what was once a farmhouse is now a place that seniors can call home.
“We gutted the house and added about 4,500 square feet for additional bedrooms,” Guice said.
Victorious Assisted Living is a comfortable place that can take up to 16 residents. The residents, according to Guice, receive their own medical care via their medical insurance plans. Nurses, physical therapists and whatever other medical personnel are needed come to the facility to provide required care.
The converted farmhouse has a front porch complete with rocking chairs where residents can gather outdoors as a group or as individuals and enjoy relaxing. There’s also a courtyard where residents are encouraged to grow their own gardens.
For his staff, Guice employs individuals who are caregivers, and each one of them provides personal assistance to the residents with necessities such as transferring from a bed to a wheelchair or keeping the resident’s rooms tidy.
Each caregiver also is assigned duties according to his or her talents. For instance, Tina, who one resident said “is the best cook in seven counties” does all the meal prep.
Tina shared what I think might be the reasons she has this reputation.
“Everyone in my family loves to cook, and I don’t like to use canned food,” Tina explained as she dressed the plates with her unique chicken salad recipe for lunch. “I make everything fresh.”
She let me have a peek at dinner, which was in the oven and would consist of shrimp with tomatoes and other sides. I asked Tina if I could come to her house for dinner. The food looked and smelled delicious.
Though she’s a talented cook, she is also responsible for other tasks as needed at the facility.
Guice explained the staff organization.
“We’re developing the model for our residents and staff as we grow. For instance, our caregivers might help a resident plant their garden, bake a pie or play a board game,” Guice said.
“We feel like the workers here are our friends,” said a resident.
Elaine, who is in her early 90s, came to the facility from a larger one, and she loves it at Victorious Assisted Living.
“I thought I was in heaven when I walked in here, just the feel of it and the atmosphere and the people is what makes it a good place to be,” Elaine said.
She loves playing cards and can’t wait for the school children to resume their card playing sessions with her.
Judy, who is in her early 70s, and not a resident at the facility is very pleased with the quality of care her mother Elaine receives.
“I think it’s amazing. They do the best they can to make this feel like a house not a rehab center or a nursing home,” Judy said.” It’s a real home environment. The care here is phenomenal.”
Maryann, a caregiver, has a passion for the residents and providing them with the care they need.
“I enjoy what I do, it’s a blessing to be able to take care of the elderly,” Marryann said.
Retired emergency room nurse and resident, Bonnie, talked about the family atmosphere.
“We feel like the workers here are our friends, it’s like a family here,” Bonnie said, as she took her time to lean into Verna who wanted to share something with her emphasizing further that the facility is an enjoyable place to be.
There was another resident who expressed frustration with being in any facility, but she did say she has a very good and attentive nurse, and she was eager to have her hair styled by the stylist who visits the center on a regular basis.
Guice is optimistic about the future of Victorious Assisted Living and the possibility for more living facilities that are outside of the traditional nursing home model such as Victorious Assisted Living will become available for more seniors.
September 8-14 is National Assisted Living Week, and as such, it is a time to celebrate and honor those who live and work in assisted living facilities.
As such, we at The Post Newspaper want to say thank you to all those who tirelessly give to our seniors and our disabled community members in facilities across our region. In fact, we want to thank caregivers wherever they are providing care.
We appreciate the work you do, and we pray that you may be encouraged and strengthened in your daily service.
We also recognize that not everyone is able to live independently, and we affirm that all people deserve to live their best lives and to be cared for with respect and dignity.
