FROM THE BALCONY OF ESTHER E. KATZ’S GATESWORTH APARTMENT, she can see the retirement community’s gazebo, where residents rest while walking the grounds. She also has a bird’s-eye view of the greenhouse, where they care for tropical plants, and the putting green. “A nice view is important to me,” she says, and she’s thrilled with what she sees outside her windows. Since moving to The Gatesworth nine months ago, Katz has fully integrated into the retirement community and is happy to be settled in her new home.
Katz’s desire to live more independently within a secure environment motivated her to move to The Gatesworth. A few years ago, the 95-year-old was hospitalized after a fall and relied on caregivers while learning to use her walker. Her decreased mobility shrank her world. “My social life after the fall had diminished; I felt very cocooned,” she explains. “One of the challenges of old age is the lack of sociability, the isolation and loss of friends. I decided … it would be in my interest to come to a place where I was not so dependent on my caregivers. I felt the need to explore a situation where I would have the kind of resources they have here available to me should I need them when my son and his wife are out of town.”
The vibrant social scene at The Gatesworth exceeded her expectations. “It’s a village,” she says. “The opportunities for meeting people are as broad as one wants.” Using her meal plan, Katz can join friends for breakfast, lunch or dinner in the dining room, where, she says, “The food is good and very varied.” She enjoyed the group birthday celebration with the other residents who share her birth month, and she chats with buddies during the daily 3 p.m. cookie hour by the atrium fireplace. There are activities to suit every interest, Katz says. The events calendar each resident receives weekly describes day trips, happy hours and daily health class offerings, which range from vitality ballet to water exercise. The in-house movie theater shows a different film nearly every day. Katz enjoys participating in the current events class and attending lectures. “You name it, they have it,” she says, “be it exercise rooms, classes, entertainment or speakers. It is a very alive place. I don’t know what heaven is and I don’t know if I’m going, but this is really a place that offers everything I find important.”
That includes personal care. When Katz accidentally burned her foot, a nurse arrived within minutes to help her. That would not have been the case at her former condo, where, Katz says, this year’s harsh winter weather could have prevented her caregivers from visiting. “This is a wonderful place to be during this last chapter in my life, where the staff and the people who work here are ongoingly wonderful and available. By some mysterious way, they know everybody’s name.” She savors the combination of that individual attention with the freedom to live as she likes. “In the nine months I’ve been here, I’ve never heard the word ‘no,’” she says. “It’s really an amazing experience.”
by Rebecca Koenig
Photograph: Tim Parker Photography, Pictured Esther E. Katz
The Gatesworth is located at One McKnight Place. For more information, call 314.993.0111 or visit thegatesworth.com.