The Villages Retirement Home
There is a retirement home in San Jose called The Villages. This community has a small problem. There is a 170 head Deer herd. In an effort to take care of the problem the retirement home decided to hire some archers to eliminate some of the deer. This was met with a large number of very public protests, and the director pulled the plug on the project.
Since that time the problem had doubled. The next plan is to capture the female deer and have them spayed. This should help keep the population explosion under control.
Run girl, RUN!
The deer in this example have caused over $150,000 worth of landscape damage. This is obviously at a premium property that has very expensive fees for the residents. If you even have a budget for landscaping, then most likely the home is doing pretty well. And if you have $150,000 for landscaping, you can imagine the other amenities are exceptional as well.
But what happens to other retirement homes that run on a very tight budget? When cuts are made, what goes first?
Often times the landscaping gets put on the back burner, one of the signs that this is happening is a change from seasonal, or annual blooming flowers to hedges. Hedges are still expensive but it is just a one-time installation.
Another thing to look at is wheelchair access. Most facilities will have easy access to the front and rear facilities. The real thing to look at when eyeballing a property is wheelchair access to the grounds. Wheelchair ramps should be easily accessible at all entrances. If it is difficult to get to or through the grounds, it is a safe bet that the residents don’t see much sunlight.
The most important factor when evaluating which retirement community to become a part of, is the quality of care that is delivered to the individuals on the inside.
Bad Retirement homes let the landscaping go
It is however to note the way the facility looks on the outside, If the landscaping has been skimped on, it is likely that there is not budget left over for things such as flowers and un needed decorative landscaping. If the facility is skimping on the outside, they are likely skimping on the inside as well.