Garden Path Elder Living

By Phyl Newbeck.

Located near downtown Brattleboro in a quiet neighborhood close to the Connecticut River, Garden Path Elder Living is a senior living facility housing less than 40 people. Although the building, which is known as Bradley House, is a historic one, there have been numerous upgrades to ensure the safety and security of the residents. Bradley House allows residents access to various cultural entities downtown while providing living quarters in a quieter section of town.

The mission of Garden Path Elder Living is “caring for your family as our own.” Their goal is for residents to have lives with meaning and vitality, no matter how they define it.  The facility, which is a level 3 residential care facility is best described as a community environment that lets residents experience life to the fullest and to the best of their abilities. Residential care promotes independence while giving extra support where needed on an individual basis.  

“At Bradley House, we are deeply committed to a culture of compassion for the elders,” said Executive Director, Mike Jones. “Using a resident-centered approach, we support the unique personalities and needs of each person. Caring staff are available around the clock to help with personal care and medication and monitor each resident’s health.”

Residents at Garden Path come from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York, as well as Vermont. The facility is open to anyone over 65. Currently, the youngest resident is 73. The oldest person who resided there lived to the age of 106. “The charm of the old house really helps,” said Jones. “It provides a quality of life that is hard to beat. You can feel it just by walking in the door.”

Having less than 40 residents means that Garden Path can provide greater individual care. All meals, activities, personal care, housekeeping, and laundry are included in the daily rate.  Meals are prepared on-site using fresh, locally grown, seasonal ingredients whenever possible. Bradley House prides themselves in meeting all dietary needs or restrictions for their residents. Cultural preferences and lifestyles are also taken into account. Residents often suggest meal options to the staff which are then incorporated into the menu. Garden Path has contracts with local food producers including a maple syrup distributor, and farms that provide greens, dairy products, and local meats. 

The dining room offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner and even provides a snack cart which goes from room to room with fresh fruit, packaged goods, and cookies from the kitchen. Housekeeping staff checks and cleans all rooms daily. The staff also provides weekly laundry services. 

Every one of the 35 rooms, has a private, accessible bath with a step-in shower and seat. Rooms have large closets and built-in shelving in both the bedroom and bathrooms. Each room has a call bell and a thermostat so residents can control the heat of their rooms. Seven of the one-bedroom suites also include a living room. Typically, residents bring their own furnishings to personalize their rooms so it makes them feel at home and comfortable. The facility has well-lit common spaces and a dining room as well as gardens and shaded outdoor gathering spaces. Jones says the back porch is one of his favorite features of the Bradley House, where residents can sit in the shade, in rocking chairs, to admire the beautiful scenery.  

Garden Path offers a variety of activities for its residents. “We also have a robust, enriching activities program that draws from community connections and individual preferences,” said Jones. “We truly do strive to meet each individual’s holistic needs.”

Activities include art classes, tai chi, trivia contests, garden projects, and meditation and life-based discussion groups, however, Jones stressed that they are always open to adding new activities that residents may request. Garden Path has relationships with cultural entities in town including the New England Center for Circus Arts and the Brattleboro Jazz Center. Residents visit those places, and the artists also come to Bradley House. During the Marlboro College Classical Music festival, residents have the opportunity to go the campus every Saturday for two months. Jones said the residents go on a variety of outings in town including restaurants and shows. Musicians and poets come to the facility to perform on a regular basis. 

Trained aides are available at all hours to assist residents with whatever is necessary. This can include assistance with showering, dressing, grooming, and incontinence care.  Residents’ health care needs are closely monitored with staff members testing blood sugar, taking vital signs, and treating skin and other issues. Because of their close personal connection with the residents, staff are able to discern any changes in their health and notify medical personnel.  “The attention from the nursing staff is one-on-one,” Jones said. “We have the capacity to meet everyone’s needs.”

Registered nurses are there to assess residents’ ability to perform activities of daily living. These include personal hygiene such as bathing, oral, nail, and hair care, and ability to use the bathroom, select appropriate clothes, feed themselves, change positions, and walk independently.  Also, registered nurses are on-site five days a week, with a registered nurse on call for nights and weekends. Registered nurses assist residents with medication management.

Jones has worked in several elder care facilities and said Garden Path is the most resident-centered care facility that he has seen. “We really do strive to cater to each individual’s needs clinically, spiritually, and activity wise,” he said. “We’re small enough that we have the capacity to do that. Nobody gets lost in the shuffle.”