Environments for Aging - Spring 2019 - 120

THE SPARK

Natural fit
Gregg R. Golden, long-term
care architect with Plunkett
Raysich Architects, shares
how his experiences with
family members in senior living
environments jump-started his
career

I

120

EFAmagazine.com * Spring 2019

ronments everything that they can and
should be. That includes working with
cities, owners, operators, caregivers,
and families to create communities that
go beyond offering residents just a place
to stay, but become a home for them
that provides support, love, respect,
choice, care, independence, dignity, and
peace.
Early in my career, my viewpoint on
care environments was further shaped
by personal experience when my mother
was admitted into a nursing home and
also when my older brother, Van, was
diagnosed with terminal cancer. Van
checked in and out of care environments. He was relatively young, so at
times when he got better, he would be
discharged from hospice so he could
travel the country. I cherished the time
we shared and will always be thankful
that he was able to find an environment
that provided him personal care, but

also independence and choices in how
he lived. He could decide to eat what
he liked when he was hungry and to
sleep in or stay up late.
These experiences have shaped my
desire to design, build, and produce
projects that support the cultural shift
in long-term care from "care focused"
to "resident centered." On a project, I
ask myself, "What would the resident
like? What would they expect, think,
and feel?" These questions start the
early dialogue and then the answers
become clearer. I know from firsthand
experience that the residents in these
environments have more to give and
more life to live. EFA

If you're interested in sharing the story of
what ignited your passion for senior living
design, contact Executive Editor Anne DiNardo at anne.dinardo@emeraldexpo.com.

YIFAN WU

t always
makes me
proud when
I can share that
my grandfather
Eddie was a
veteran of World
War I. Of course,
I wasn't completely aware of
the significance of this as a young child in
the '70s, when I would visit him at the care
center where he lived. But I did know it was
an exceptional place that made him feel
loved, protected, and cherished. It was his
final home, and Eddie loved being part of it.
Most of my childhood memories of my
grandfather happened in that care center.
Because I was young and didn't drive, I
couldn't take him off-campus unsupervised.
Instead, we opted to go on long walks and
explore the community in great detail, finding cool little places to eat, hang out and
talk, and play hide-and-seek-all the typical
things a boy does with his grandpa.
My grandfather was half-blind from the
war, but he was very independent. During
our time together, I remember the caregivers empowering him when we were playing
games, saying things like, "Go, Eddie,
you got this. Go find your grandson." (The
nurses were also cool and didn't mind
when a kid hid behind the furniture.)
These memories of visiting my grandpa
cemented a personal interest in senior
living facilities, so I decided to pursue a
college degree in architecture. Focusing on
long-term care for seniors was a natural fit,
passion, and attraction for me. I wanted to
commit myself to making senior living envi-
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Environments for Aging - Spring 2019

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