In some respects, Betty Blum’s life is no different than the University students who live across from her on Church Street in the High Rise and Low Rise complexes; like her neighbors, the highlight of her day is meals with friends in the dining room or the occasional birthday party festivities. Yet, Blum’s far-off stare and thinning hair remind the onlooker that life at Water’s Edge Center for Health and Rehabilitation follows a far different flow than the routine of students, some of whom volunteer at her home each week.

Water’s Edge Center for Health and Rehabilitation has provided geriatric care adjacent to campus for the last 25 years. Currently at capacity with 154 residents, Water’s Edge specializes in offering Alzheimer’s and dementia care, long-term skilled nursing services, and short-term rehabilitation programming.

Despite the age demographic of the residents, however, Water’s Edge is no lifeless place.

This certainly true for Facility Manager Joel Nann, who, though not scheduled to work that day, arrived one brisk Saturday morning in December to decorate the facility’s Christmas trees. By late morning, the trees had yet to be completed – but many other tasks had come his way.

Strolling through all three floors of the facility, Nann, who generally works about fifty hours a week, was greeted every few feet by a resident, with whom Nann has formed a personal relationship.

“I know everyone in this building by name,” Nann said. “I even know how they like their coffee.”

Nann has considerable experience in the geriatric field, between his work at Water’s Edge, where he has been the last fifteen years, and prior jobs at elderly-care facilities within the region. Yet, according to Nann, Water’s Edge is distinguished by the 120 attentive staff members and the quality of care provided.

“We have a very good institution here,” said Nann. “We are usually always filled because people know we give good care. We are a family oriented facility.”

One resident, an aging, white haired women dressed in a purple jump suit, called out to Nann as he passed through the second floor—requesting a grinder, and even offering to tip for this service.

“So peppers, cheese, and meatball,” Nann said, taking down the order and promising to return within the hour from Subway. After handing Nann ten dollars, the resident requested one last thing – cigarettes.

Another resident on the second floor, a balding man with wrinkled features hunched in a wheel chair outside his room, had a similar request for the facilities manager as he passed.

“Everyone has the right to smoke,” said Nann, explaining that Water’s Edge is the only geriatric facility in the area to allow smoking. “We don’t let them smoke in the building; they go outside to a certain area where they are watched by staff.”

According to Nann, the facility receives about eighty percent of its funding through Medicaid, the Title Nineteen provision of the Social Security Act mandating need-based government financial assistance for the elderly, and Medicare, the current government health insurance program for citizens sixty-five and older.

“These facilities are not cheap,” Nann said. “The money involved in health care is a lot… here it’s about three to four thousand per each per month.”

Yet here at Water’s Edge, Nann argues, every dollar is put to good use. The institution, renowned for its short-term rehabilitation program, recently renovated its Alzheimer and Dementia ward. The newly created locked floor was designed with the particular needs of the patients in mind; large spaces are available for residents to sit, watch television, or walk around. A sign positioned in the center of the floor reminds residents of the date, the weather, and the upcoming holiday—Kwanza.

“It’s a nice unit,” Nann said. “They [the residents] are like a kind child, gentle and beautiful.”

Elsewhere in the building, shouts of “72” and “36” resonated from the main dining room, now adorned for the winter holidays, where a group of women seated among several tables concentrated carefully on their Bingo game—the winner is awarded a quarter.

Nann described the other programs and recreational activities that Water’s Edge provides resident in order to augment their health care, such as arts and crafts, religious services, hair styling and nail painting, a twice-weekly exercise class, led by Nann himself, and a monthly Residents Council. In addition, outdoor activities during the summer months, a number of University students volunteer each Thursday evening at six. For those residents unable to leave their room, one on one care is offered, such as aroma, music, and pet therapy, as well as a strolling band and a coffee cart with special selections scheduled to frequently pass through.

A younger looking, heavy-set resident in a wheel chair, a resident for about a year, was eager to talk about his favorite aspect of Water’s Edge—the freedom.

“A lot of the other places you are stuck,” he said. “Here as long as you are able to, you can go to the movies or downtown.”

Nann, as he does with all the residents, kept the mood lighthearted.

“You know it’s going to snow today, so we are going to need you to plow,” he playfully suggested, patting the wheelchair.

For Nann, his strong connection to the patients—the relationships that develop through an understanding of each resident’s distinct personality, needs, and story—is both the most meaningful and challenging part of the job of those caring for the nation’s elderly.

“It’s really rewarding; I love my work,” Nann said. “You don’t want to be too attached though; I’ve lost thousands of people. We know them all. We want this place to be homey.”