GreenFields of Geneva Residents Celebrate First Anniversary
“We are happy and we are blessed,” said Helen Meints. In February of last year, Helen and her husband Don moved to GreenFields of Geneva from their Lockport home of more than 50 years. “I can't tell you how many times we've said to each other that this is one of the best decisions that we've made in our lifetimes,” said Helen.
GreenFields of Geneva is celebrating its one year anniversary this month. The senior retirement community is located west of downtown Geneva off of Keslinger Road on a beautiful 26 acre campus. The community features luxury apartments and fabulous amenities including libraries, media centers and meeting rooms, two restaurants, a wellness center and two salons.
Bill and Dot Fiedler moved to GreenFields in June of 2012. The couple first started investigating retirement communities five years ago. “We weren't ready to move at that time, but wanted an idea of what our options were in the area,” said Dot. The couple had decided that their Elburn-area home was large and required more care than they wanted to provide. “We didn't want to have to think about dealing with another layer of snow and ice on the driveway,” said Bill.
They found that not all retirement communities offered what they were looking for. “We learned about Life Care at GreenFields and that became very important to us,” said Dot. As a Life Care Community, GreenFields guarantees lifetime access to the full continuum of care including independent living, assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing, all on-site, and all at a predictable monthly fee. Life Care provides protection against rising health care costs, and worries about what-if's. “Everything we need and will need is right here. We don't want our family having to make choices about nursing homes, or things like that. If we need care, it's right here,” Dot said.
Helen and Don agreed that the complete continuum of care provided by GreenFields is of great importance. “We wanted to know that if we ever needed assistance, we wouldn't have to move out of wherever we were living at that time. We wanted this to be our last move,” said Don.
GreenFields offers many amenities and programs to keep its residents busy and engaged. “It's certainly not an old person's home. People compare this to being on a cruise ship,” said Bill who is 83 and very active “There's a resort-type feeling here,” said Dot. The couple was drawn by the community's spirit. “Some of the places we looked were for old people, the residents were dour and the buildings were rundown,” said Bill. The Fiedlers have found GreenFields to be an active, warm and engaging community. “People can be as busy or as inactive as they want,” said Bill. Mostly, Dot said, people tend to want to be involved with the great activities. “The participation is remarkable. There's often something special going on and people look forward to it,” she said.
GreenFields boasts a state-of-the-art fitness center and holds classes promoting exercise for health, strength and balance. Helen and Don are both dedicated to working out. “I wanted to make sure that we kept the health that we had and in fact could build on it,” said Helen. “We're more involved in exercising than we were before we moved in.”
Helen and Don love the location of GreenFields. “Geneva is an enriching and stimulating community to be a part of. We have opportunities to go to the Elgin Symphony and the Paramount Theatre. There are lots of cultural activities,” said Helen. “Geneva offers a lot to the community and that's so inviting. And we like being close to the Metra. We go into the city for concerts; we have tickets to the opera. We go to Chicago quite a bit.”
Carolyn Siebens' only reluctance about moving to GreenFields from her home in DeKalb was the thought of having to give her beloved dog away. When she learned that needn't be the case she said that she “almost cried with relief.” Now settled in the new community with her faithful bichon, she couldn't be happier. “I love everything about it. What's not to like about this beautiful place? The food is excellent, I have house cleaning once a week,” she said. “I love the newness and the people, all of whom bend over backwards to help me. “ Her fellow residents are friendly and fascinating. “I'm enjoying meeting all of these nice people and hearing about their lives and their stories,” she said. “Everyone is so friendly. When you first move in you're a stranger but you‘re not a stranger for long. It doesn't take much time to make lots of new friends.”
“Moving to GreenFields has released us of a lot of concerns. Our daughters are very grateful because we've eliminated a lot of the responsibility that adult children are sometimes left to settle. We made the decision of where we wanted to go and it's taken away a lot of potential concern. They know we'll always be well taken care of and that everything is provided. The people here will take good care of us and we will always be treated with kindness and dignity whatever our lives may present,” said Helen.
Helen and Don agree that they are in an enviable position. “We wake up every morning and say ‘we're glad we're here,'” Don said. “It became our home from day one. And it's taken away a lot of worries and concerns about our everyday household responsibilities as well as about our futures. I think you're a healthier person when you're not worrying about all of those things.”
“We're glad we're at GreenFields,” Helen said. “We feel blessed to be able to call it our home.”
GreenFields of Geneva is a Life Care retirement community conveniently located near Batavia and St. Charles, Illinois. From a perfect neighborhood location in what U.S. News & World Report calls one of the country's “Best Places to Retire” to our unsurpassed lifestyle and amenities, GreenFields is local retirement living at its best. For additional information visit www.GreenFieldsofGeneva.org or call 630-232-9105.