Member News

$20 Million Renovation Underway at St. Andrews Estates in Boca Raton; Community Enhancement Modeled After New Concept in Senior Care – St. Andrews Estates, a continuing care retirement community in Boca Raton, is undergoing a major renovation that will feature a new, progressive model of senior care by incorporating more “homelike” environments with enhanced resident privacy and expanded services.

ACTS Retirement-Life Communities, the parent company of St. Andrews Estates, is adding a new OakBridge Terrace Assisted Living Residence with 70 apartments on three floors. In conjunction with the new assisted living residences, St. Andrews will also add 13 private skilled care accommodations to its WillowBrooke Court Skilled Care Center, which provides nursing care and memory support. With these changes, WillowBrooke Court will have a total of 68 private and semi-private rooms for 89 individuals. The total cost for both projects is estimated at $20 million.

St. Andrews Estates is an accredited not-for-profit life care community for seniors age 62 and above. Residents move to St. Andrews Estates when they are healthy and able to live independently. Should their health needs change, the community offers access to the assisted living and skilled nursing care residences located within the 80-acre campus. Under the ACTS Life Care plan, the long-term care services are provided with no increase to a resident’s monthly fee.

The campus enhancements at St. Andrews Estates follow a nationwide movement to make healthcare accommodations more homelike and personalized, where residents live in “households” with a kitchen, dining room and living room. Other features include flexible schedules and activities, enhanced menu options, as well as larger living spaces and activity areas that promote socialization.

A select number of residences will also be available to seniors upon direct admission. The entire project is expected to be completed in the latter half of 2013. For more information about St. Andrews Estates please call (561) 487-5500.

Caption: St. Andrews Estates, an ACTS Retirement-Life Community

Two Florida Teams Triumphant at the Wii Bowling Championships – Boca Raton’s Edgewater Pointe Estates “Rockets” and the St. Andrews Estates “4 On A Roll” teams have mastered the art of modern bowling technology! Sponsored by LeadingAge, the players competed in the National Senior League which brings senior and assisted living communities across the country together for Nintendo Wii fun and competition. The teams were separated into five divisions based on average scores and, in the Championship division, “4 On A Roll” beat out 24 teams to emerge victorious. Equally impressive, the “Rockets” Wii bowling team was named Elite division conference champions after winning all seven matches.

Caption: The EPE Rockets: Back Row (L to R): Jerry Berkowitz, Herb Chauser and Saul Lewis. Front Row (L to R): Irv Dublin, Evelyn Weitzman and Ellen Goldsmith	Caption: 4 On a Roll: Back Row (L to R): Joe Di Mauro, Captain Joe Riccobene and Duane Webster. Front Row (L to R): Alice Annesi, Celeste Militello, Kate Nelson and Selma Friedman

Haskells Raise Money for Barbara’s Friends (by Nicole Muller, director of marketing, Cypress Cove at HealthPark Florida, Cypress Cove, Fort Myers) – Cypress Cove residents Betty and Frank Haskell have raised $13 million for Barbara’s Friends, a charitable organization they founded in memory of their daughter Barbara who died of breast cancer at the age of 36. More than 3,000 seriously ill children have been treated at the Barbara’s Friends Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Center since its opening in 1999 at the Children’s Hospital at HealthPark Florida in Fort Myers. The Haskells are currently charged with raising $10 million toward a new state-of-the-art children’s hospital on the campus. Fellow resident Bob Storms has lovingly donated his artistic talent to the cause. Storms was once a cartoonist for Disney and has created a 44-page coloring book and medical book featuring “Palmer the Turtle” to comfort children and help them to better understand their cancer treatments.

“Rather than retire into a life of seclusion and privacy with golf and tennis and a nap after lunch, we decided to engage in life and embark on a community service career to benefit children in memory of our daughter Barbara,” says Frank Haskell, 83.