Aurora’s Hudson House celebrates 35th anniversary of opening

Assisted living care facility hosts reception, open house, ribbon cutting to commemorate milestone
 
Hudson House, a retirement and assisted-living care facility for senior citizens in Aurora, celebrated the 35th anniversary of the facility’s opening with a reception and an open-house tour Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Pennie Spain, office manager at Hudson House, said some people, expecting the facility to be more like a nursing home, are surprised when they visit the facility for the first time.
“Sometimes, someone will picture a nursing home kind-of-place,” she said, “but when they come in, it’s clean, it’s fresh, it’s beautiful, and it’s not what they think when they picture a nursing home. It’s homier, so they’re more comfortable.”
Hudson House, said Spain, is designed to help the residents live like they did before coming to the facility.
“I think the residents feel really at home here,” she said. “We go out of our way to make their rooms look like their homes. We encourage them to bring in their own furniture, their own decorations. If they don’t have any, we supply it for them, but if they do, we encourage them to bring their stuff from home. So, we make their rooms look like home and feel like home; give them that personal, one-on-one care.”
Spain further said the residents at Hudson House do receive help with some basic living needs, but at the same time, are able to live semi-independently.
“The people are living at home, and they begin to get confused with their meds, or they begin to fall,” she said. “They’re not quite safe living on their own, but they’re not ready for a skilled facility like the nursing center, so we’re kind of a step between home and skilled care. This is more like they’re still independent, free to come and go as they please. We take care of their meds, their food, their laundry, and this is their home. And they will tell you this is their home, and they enjoy living here.” Perhaps it’s the staff that makes the difference. Spain said some staff members have been at Hudson House for up to 30 years, and they work hard to provide the residents with the care they need.
“They are great with residents,” she said.
An interesting fact about Hudson House is the first resident there when they opened was Kathrina Logan. Now her daughter-in-law, Willadean Logan, is a resident there.
“It made a good impression on the family earlier, and so when it was time for her, this was the first place they came back to, and where she decided to stay,” Spain said. “It’s like we’ve come full circle with this family, so we invited their family here and made it an anniversary celebration and an open house.”
Willadean, who moved to Hudson House in September, was full of praise for the facility.
“For the most part, they just give good care,” she said. “I’ve not had any problems of any kind, and they feed us good meals and we have comfortable rooms to stay in.”
Spain said the staff of Hudson House is proud that families trust them to take care of their elderly family members.
“We’re just grateful we’re still here, that we have a place that the residents can call home,” she said.