73 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com In March, a developer bought two of the three Oaks senior living communities (the third of which had already been sold to another investor) in Mount Pleasant and West Ashley, intending to tear down the properties and build apartment complexes. When administrators announced they would close on April 10, giving more than 100 residents just 33 days’ notice to find a new care facility, no plans for the next steps had been implemented. To reduce the distress and confusion that had quickly descended into panic and chaos, The Oaks hosted a town hall-style meeting led by founders of Senior Resource Specialists (SRS), Joshua and Anne Marie Long, whom they had contacted about helping residents relocate. Approaching the situation with a sense of urgency, the Longs addressed the concerns of residents and their family members. One major issue they faced was that although the Charleston area did have available inventory, its senior living facilities were all occupied at 85-to-90% capacity, meaning it would be impossible to find space locally for so many new residents within a restrictive time frame. Further, since The Oaks had been a lower-cost option, budget constraints presented another hurdle. Between taking calls at all hours of the day and night, the Longs and their team of frontline resource specialists, including Shannon Phillips, Miranda Cox and Kelli Grice, reached out to statewide industry experts such as administrators, directors and nurses with whom they’d built relationships over the five years they’ve been in business. By working within that network, which extended beyond Charleston to Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Walterboro and Beaufort, the SRS team secured new assisted living locations on budget and on time so that residents’ families could gather medical and financial documents, submit paperwork, pack and schedule movers. Of this process, Joshua said, “We worked very hard and were proud of the support we were able to provide for as many of the residents as possible.” While being separated from their homes, friends and sense of stability created high levels of stress and anxiety for the seniors – some of whom had lived at The Oaks for years – the caregivers and office staff kept working to make the transition as seamless as possible, even while faced with the knowledge they were going to lose their jobs. Yet all this aggravation was for nothing, according to the Longs, who said that the developers who had purchased the two Oaks properties had expanded beyond their means operationally; after emptying the buildings of residents, they submitted building plans for the apartment complexes, which were rejected. Now the two campuses are back on the market. The silver lining of this situation is that although broken systems clearly permeate the senior care world, SRS has shown an impressive capacity for guiding families through the most daunting challenges during transitional times. To learn more about their services and schedule a consultation, visit srspecialists.com/. BY SARAH ROSE Navigating a Crisis Senior Resource Specialists help Oaks’ residents relocate health & beauty Josh Long is interviewed by Live 5 News about the closure of The Oaks senior living community.
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