(Pictured above, left to right: Joseph Hoff, the Executive Director of Brandon Oaks; Mrs. Doreen Fishwick; Heather Neff, CEO of Virginia Lutheran Homes; Bishop James F. Mauney)
The joyful twinkle was apparent in the eyes of Mrs. Doreen Fishwick as she spoke about her late husband.
“He always wanted to help people,” she said. “We both loved living at Brandon Oaks and he did a great deal of work in this community. I felt that this would be a great tribute to him.”
Her late husband, John P. Fishwick is the namesake of the newest addition to Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the John P. Fishwick Rehabilitation Center which opened in early February.
Doreen Fishwick and Heather Neff with a modern painting of John P. Fishwick that is displayed in the lobby of the new rehab center
Brandon Oaks is owned by Virginia Lutheran Homes (VLH), one of the Virginia Synod’s eight mission partners. Brandon Oaks is one of three of the vital ministries of VLH, the other two being Luther Crest in New Market, Va. and Luther Manor in Virginia Beach.
“We moved in on Feb. 3, 2009 and my first thought was, ‘is John going to be happy?’, but he loved it from the very beginning.” Doreen said.
“I consider it to be one big family. Normally you may have a family of 10 or 12. When you move into Brandon Oaks, you have a new family of 200. The only problem is trying to remember all of their names.”
Go ahead and remove any preconceived notions that you may have of a retirement community. Brandon Oaks isn’t your grandparents’ old folks’ home.
The intentionality in the décor of the entire building is obvious. The hallways and common areas look like they belong in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. The dining hall has a beautiful wooden ceiling that makes you feel as if you are eating your delicious meal in a mountain lodge. Add in the pool and the workout center on the main floor and I’m ready to move in myself (too bad you have to be 55 or older).
Brandon Oaks has been rated as a 5-star facility by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on a rating system that takes into consideration health inspections, staffing, and 11 other measures of quality.
A member of the John P. Fishwick Rehab Center staff guiding a patient through a strengthening exercise
With their commitment to excellence, the $8.9 million John P. Fishwick rehabilitation center fits right in with the rest of the Brandon Oaks community. The new center includes 23 private rooms, a therapy suite, an Activities of Daily Living (ADL) suite, fitness equipment, a fresh air gym, and the Mountain View Grille which is open 7 days a week with capabilities to provide room service to all rehab patients.
“I still think that at the heart of what we do are the staff and the care that they provide. Having the amenities, the private rooms, the beautiful therapy areas, it’s like combining the best of all things,” said Heather Neff, the CEO of Virginia Lutheran Homes.
With the opening of the new rehab center 18 full-time and 15 part-time new staff positions have become available in the Roanoke Valley.
As Doreen Fishwick showed Bishop Mauney around the rehab center for the first time, she was beaming with pride, especially when she showed off the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) suite which appears to have all the necessities of an apartment squeezed into one room.
“You don’t realize that people need to re-learn how to do laundry, cook and open cabinets,” she said.
Who says rehab can’t be fun? Bishop Mauney took a turn on the balance machine during his tour and tried to get a high score while others looked on
After seeing the ADL suite, Bishop Mauney’s eye was captured by a machine that helps patients regain their balance. With this machine, a patient will step up on a platform and look forward at a screen. The therapist will then choose a virtual course for the patient to complete and when the patient shifts his or her weight, it affects where their character moves on the virtual course. Imagine a Wii gaming system, but designed for therapy.
Bishop Mauney couldn’t resist challenging Joseph Hoff, the Executive Director of Brandon Oaks, to see who could get the best time on a racing game where their virtual course consisted of penguins sliding down an icy path.
In between the joyful laughs that his tour brought, Bishop Mauney praised the John P. Fishwick Rehabilitation Center.
“This is an important arm of Virginia Lutheran Homes,” said Bishop Mauney. “If I am living in Brandon Oaks and something happens, this rehab center is here for me but it is also here as an outreach to the community for the ministry of Brandon Oaks.”
While Brandon Oaks residents have first priority to this rehabilitation center, it is open and available to anyone in the community who may need short term rehab.
“I have known the sudden emergency and the absolute desperation when an elderly loved one needs care and you don’t know where the next step is. It’s a powerful ministry to be able to say to people, ‘we have a place for you,’” Mauney said.
Virginia Synod congregations have paired with Virginia Lutheran Homes in their ministries across the state. Heather Neff said that ELCA churches surrounding the three VLH facilities partner with the auxiliary groups to organize activities like Oktoberfest at Luther Manor and a fashion show at Brandon Oaks. At Luther Crest, Reformation Lutheran Church in New Market invites all the residents to the church every Thursday for a home cooked meal.
The leadership of Virginia Lutheran Homes is pleased with the partnerships that have formed between Virginia Synod congregations and their retirement communities, just as they are delighted with the outcome of the new rehab facility. However their positive feelings do not mean that they won’t continue to strive for progress.
“We did not wait to build the rehab center until it was fully funded,” said Heather Neff. “We knew the need was now. We already have on the docket updating the existing nursing center and we want to add a memory loss unit. We’d like to be able to take care of all of our residents no matter what they are dealing with.”
For more information about Virginia Lutheran Homes, go online to www.vlhnet.org.
The John P. Fishwick Rehabilitation Center includes 23 private rooms which all share this modern look
Bishop Mauney stopped by the Mountain View Grille during his tour to find out what the staff was fixing for lunch
In the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) suite patients learn how to do tasks that are common in their home
Doreen Fishwick explains to Nicole Bruch, Corporate Marketing Coordinator of Virginia Lutheran Homes, that patients often need to re-learn simply tasks during rehab, such as doing laundry
