By Laurie Whittier
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
Wind Crest resident Norm Fox recently spent 40 days driving to every open Erickson community nationwide. In this final article of our series, we’ll explore features at other communities and learn about Fox’s homecoming.
When Norm Fox embarked on a road trip to visit every Erickson community across the country, he expected to experience new and different things. But he never expected any of them would involve wearing makeup.
It happened before being interviewed in the resident-run TV studio at Linden Ponds in Massachusetts. “Many of their residents are former entertainers, performers, and communications professionals, so they have a skilled acting group and TV studio,” he says.
Despite the occasional celebrity treatment, Fox kept his feet on the ground. After all, he was on a mission to learn what makes other communities tick and identify any special touches they’ve implemented to make life even more enjoyable.
Ideas abound
From lazy Susans on dining tables to a dog park complete with a gazebo and water fountain, Fox came away with pages of great ideas to share with residents and staff back home. “Not that they have anything on us, but there’s always room to improve as we grow,” he says.
Some of the more memorable features fell into the dining category, says Fox. At Linden Ponds he was delighted to find two menus at the restaurant. “One had several entrées much like ours, and the second was for specials,” he says.
At Eagle’s Trace in Texas restaurant patrons are treated to dessert bars where residents indulge in their choice of cakes, cookies, pies, fruit, and more. Another surprise came at Seabrook in New Jersey, where one of the restaurants is buffet-style.
“They had one line for salads, another for main dishes, and a third for desserts,” says Fox. At the dessert station residents were free to build their own ice cream sundaes—something Wind Crest has since begun offering on Wednesdays.