Business Spotlight: Cedar Creek Lodge offers home away from home

Jun. 21—Gun Barrel City will soon have a new private pay, assisted living home. Complete with a gourmet chef, designer touches, high standards in care staff and a memory care center, the Cedar Creek Lodge is unique on many levels.

Joseph Hessley, CEO, and Sarah Holloway, President, of WindRiver Companies joined forces after managing properties together for many years. After discussing future visions, the colleagues wanted to move forward into owning their own facilities as well. Currently, they manage 17 communities and own six.

Holloway is the daughter of Gary Fisher, founder of WindRiver Companies, and started in the industry at an early age. WindRiver was founded in 1992 and manages over 2,500 units nationwide. After graduating, she officially joined the firm in 2002.

Hessley has worked in the industry for 24 years and is responsible for day-to-day operations, leadership, team development and culture for the national company. They hope to bring their vast experience together and form a powerful team creating a highly unique residence to the lake area.

"The goal was to make these part of a boutique collection of assets where we had an opportunity to personalize, create venues and lifestyles for the market that would combine all of our experience creating a legacy with these communities," Hessley said.

Hessley, also co-owner of HF Family Market, said a large focus was similar to HF Family Table being an extension of their own family meals and table. They are going against the grain of a facility and making the location more like an extension of home.

"We start with the resident in mind. It isn't commercial, it has a home feel, the goal was to make it fun, clean and help them thrive and maintain as much independence as possible," Hessley said.

There are numerous features throughout the facility worth noting. One of the first things residents will notice is the meals.

"We are not going to be cookie cutter in the menu, our dining experience will be a big feature of what we do," Hessley said.

To make this a reality, they hired Greg Morton as Chef. Typically the food in assisted living and nursing home environments have a reputation for being less than delectable, but not here, according to Hessley.

"We wanted food that you wanted to eat, homestyle," Hessley said. "Through forming a friendship with Greg, we learned about his culinary history, did an interview and he did an on the spot cooking demo. We were impressed and knew it was something we needed to do long term."

Residents will have a monthly meeting to state their own opinions on the food and other aspects of life to help staff raise the standards of care and service even higher.

The memory care unit will take part in the process by helping maintain a raised bed garden in a courtyard designed for their private outdoor space.

"Our memory care program will include growing fresh herbs and vegetables, and a farm to table experience they can be involved in. Being in East Texas, we wanted to incorporate the agricultural side," said RJ Flowers, Area Sales Director.

Residents will have access to three meals a day with snacks, and an anytime menu, featuring items like baked potatoes, BLTs and other foods.

A new adventure in a beautiful place is a summary of what awaits residents in the living space.

It incorporates two-apartment floor plans and a homey feel throughout the facility. The team used over 40 years of design experience to create a unique place to the lake, without skimping on cost. Adaptable color palettes and a furniture partnership with Ivan Smith Furniture is all part of the experience as clients may customize their space if they choose.

Herringbone floors and ADA compliant bathrooms with a designer touch are seen in each living space. There are studio and one bedroom designs available as space permits.

"There are two floor pans, all with different views, but one bedrooms are limited. The bathrooms have a focus on design but still meet the ADA requirements. A lot of the adult children love knowing that their loved ones will be safe," Flowers said.

"We have a call system in the living and bathroom area, Quartz counter tops, full size refrigerators and microwaves. They have their own thermostat to keep their space as warm or cool as they wish. Cable TV and WiFi are available. Just because you are moving into a community doesn't mean you should have to give up the things you have in your home now."

Pets are also allowed at the facility as long as residents are able to care for them, which is a huge comfort and companionship for those moving in.

From a care perspective there will be a corporate regional nurse, Lynn Miranda, who will be actively involved as part of the wellness directive. There will also be RN supervision through the week. The staff provides assistance with daily activities as needed.

"We have someone with years of experience in senior living. Usually it is a med tech, but we actually have nurses. We are elevating the level of care and it costs more, but I am glad to support that cost. We will have RNs, LPNs and med techs. Our goal is to have a strong staff of nurses," Hessley said.

There will be many daily activities along with other amenities. Couples move in together, even when one is in the memory care program, which prevents married couples from having to be separated often after many years together.

"We have activities through the day, happy hour, housekeeping, laundry service, scheduled transportation and a van for the community to take them to scheduled outings and appointments," Flowers said. "They also have a beauty shop. We have residents coming in that still work."

The memory care program has a neighborhood design and residents choose a door color to help them recognize their space as a visual memory trigger.

"Memory care is a secured neighborhood. However, if one spouse has need of memory care and the other does not, the one that is not in need of the extra care can stay with their spouse in the apartment but still have access to the companionship and activities on the other side."

This is a huge upside to the facility. Many people have been isolated for over a year due to the pandemic and have been missing seeing friends and family. Flowers said that the pandemic opened a lot of peoples eyes to the need of a community like this. It is also difficult to keep spouses together and sometimes prohibited in some facilities where one requires memory care and the other does not, however Cedar Lodge is a game changer for those couples.

"I compare it to going off to college again, moving into your new nest and starting a new chapter," Flowers said. "It is a really exciting time and it is fun to see people doing that. You know that you are going to have 40 instant friends to be around."

Being able to thrive in a home environment full of people to socialize with, along with the comforts and freedoms of home make this facility a unique addition to the lake community.

The first resident is scheduled to arrive in June. If you would like more information regarding Cedar Lodge, please visit them at cedarcreek-lodge.com or contact them for a consultation at 903-887-0236.