Written by Juanita Fox
In September, Garden Spot Village was approached by Activated Insights, a consumer insights company working with U.S. News & World Report to find retirement communities who wanted to participate in the magazine’s first ever search for the “Best Senior Living.”
I was intrigued! I knew that Lancaster frequently topped U.S. News and World Report’s list of Best Places to Retire and it only made sense that Garden Spot Village would benefit from being included in the survey.
After working through the enrollment process with Activated Insights, I began to engage resident volunteers to help me garner interest and excitement in the project. We had a big goal: in the span of two weeks, 55% of independent living, personal care and memory support residents needed to complete the survey in order for Garden Spot Village to be included in the evaluation for “Best Senior Living.”
It felt daunting, but the resident survey champions were convinced we could reach our goal.
Although many people move to Garden Spot Village in their 50s, 60s and 70s and are technologically savvy, other people who have lived here for fifteen to twenty years requested assistance to complete the survey.
Organized survey sessions in the Village Park offered opportunities for volunteers to help their neighbors complete the online survey. As the weeks went on, we refined our process and were able to quickly help hundreds of residents complete the survey.
On Friday, November 19 – two days before the close of the survey we hit our goal. Two of the resident champions, Christel Huxley and Carol Grebe, continued to help residents complete the survey through the day. As Christel said, “Let’s keep inviting people to take the survey; we don’t want any reason for them to say we didn’t get enough!”
All told, 564 people completed the survey, a major accomplishment that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the resident volunteers.
For me, personally walking residents through the online survey was a meaningful experience. Many residents wanted to complete the task as quickly as possible, but for others, the survey was an opportunity for them to share how much they love living at Garden Spot Village. Residents shared stories about how team members impact their lives and why they are so glad they made the decision to move to Garden Spot Village.
For some people, the opportunity to complete the survey was a social event. It gave them a reason to interact with their neighbors in a meaningful, purposeful way.
We are still awaiting the results of the survey but are hopeful Garden Spot Village will be recognized for the many ways residents experience abundant opportunities to live with purpose in community.