Aging in Place at Academy Village by Gary D. Fenstermacher
Academy Village has made an amazing evolution in the last eight years. While retaining (and expanding) its active adult community status, it has added facilities that bring it within a hair’s breadth of a continuing care, life planned community. That means one can move in at 55, live a full, active life, then transition to supportive care as physical or mental frailty begin to limit one’s capabilities.
This continuum of care begins with a robust fitness program and a highly regarded Wellness Center which complement active adult life. An in-home (private duty) care program and two beautiful, small-format assisted living residences are available when the need arises. The first residence, opened in late 2010, offers superb, highly personalized care to 14 guests. The second residence, accommodating 16 guests, is currently under construction with a planned opening date of March, 2017. This second residence boasts the latest innovations in building design and a broad range of amenities to support the well being of its guests.
There are several aspects of the continuum of care in Academy Village that make it both exceptional and very different from other models. First, the community has donated nearly four million dollars to provide these programs, allowing us to return nearly all of the revenue earned directly back to care. Second, the operating organizations are tax-exempt, non-profit companies, located within Academy Village itself. Third, the facilities of the Village and the programs of the Arizona Senior Academy are available to all residents in assisted living. Finally, unlike so many life planned, continuing care communities, here you own the home you live in and pay nothing for healthcare services until you actually access them.
And by the way, one need not be a resident of Academy Village to become a resident in assisted living. Making these facilities available to the Vail community and the metro Tucson region is part of the outreach that is a hallmark of the Arizona Senior Academy and Academy Village.
Another step in the evolution of the Village occurred a year ago when a new developer acquired the balance of unsold properties in the Village. Operating under the name “Altura,” with new home construction by Miramonte Homes, there are five new, energy efficient models available. In combination with a newly renovated community center, the remarkable programs of the Arizona Senior Academy (program listings are available in this newspaper), and the continuum of health care now in place, Academy Village has become a unique model for retirement communities. It is truly an invigorating, exciting, and fulfilling way to age in place.
If you would like to know more, check out www.theacademyvillage.com . For more on the assisted living residences, see www.academyvillas.org, or call Pat Strong at 647-7500.
Gary Fenstermacher is the president of the Academy Services Corporation, the primary provider of healthcare services in Academy Village.
