The legendary Pat Boone helped create an air of excitement at the grand opening ceremony of a new $13 million assisted care living facility in Lutz.
Boone made an appearance at Angels Senior Living at Lodges of Idlewild, 18440 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., on Oct. 22, to help celebrate the facility’s completion.
The three-story living facility is about 76,000 square feet.
(Suzanne Beauchaine/Staff Photos)
It features 94 units, including studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom to serve more than 100 residents.
The 82-year-old Boone has sold an estimated 45 million records, and was especially popular during the ‘50s and ‘60s. He had 38 Top 40 hits and has appeared in more than 12 Hollywood films.
This is a phenomenal building,” said Boone, addressing several hundred guests in attendance.
“I believe very strongly in these facilities. My grandmother lived her last years in an HCA (Hotel Corporation of America) facility in Jacksonville. I got to visit with her there long after she was not able to take care of herself.”
Boone, a longtime friend of John Young, executive director of Lodges of Idlewild, continued to heap praise on the new facility throughout the ceremony.
“You’ve got something really special in your midst. You have time to relive a lot of your life again,” Boone said.
Including Young, Lodges of Idlewild features a six-member leadership team with over 100-plus years experience in health care.
Ralph Fritsch, community relations manager at Angels Senior Living, said residents have been moving into the new facility “almost everyday” since its soft opening on Sept. 19.
“This is kind of the beauty of this community: we run it like a crew ship,” said Fritsch. “We have a theme every week — like ’50s and ’60s.”
He said the living center has a minimum of two interactive activities every hour between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., each day.
“It’s everything from bingo to board games,” Fritsch said. “We do brain games at 10 a.m., every day. We do chair exercises, dances. We’ll bring in professional artists to teach an art class, so they can paint, and we’ll hang their painting on the wall.”
As part of the assisted living experience, residents will be aided in hygiene, ambulating, keeping track of medications, and dining.
In addition to assisted living, Lodges of Idlewild will offer both memory care and independent living services.
The memory care program, designed for residents suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, is a “secured unit” with a higher staffing ratio for additional attention.
The independent living program also features independent apartments where residents can pay for “a la carte services” and transition into the assisted living facility when needed.
A rough estimate for the monthly cost for a resident to live at the facility is $4,000.
The two best options for financial assistance for senior care is through the Medicaid Managed Long Term Care program, or the Veteran’s Aid (VA) and Attendance program attained by serving in a war, according to Angels Senior Living’s website.
The Medicaid route requires being on Medicaid and then applying for the program to pay an amount that may total 25 percent to 50 percent of monthly rent.
The veteran’s aid option requires an application through the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Financial assistance in this program varies.
Angels Senior Living operates nine other locations throughout Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
There are three facilities in North Tampa alone — Connerton Court in Land O’ Lakes, Angels Senior Living at New Tampa on North 42nd Street, and Shady Palms on North Florida Avenue.
Angels Senior Living at Lodges of Idlewild
What: A $13 million, 76,000-square-foot assisted living facility with 94 units
Where: 18440 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., in Lutz
Key Programs: Assisted living, memory care and independent living
Key Amenities: Luxury suites, life enrichment program, 11 designated activity areas, live entertainment, large-screen movie theater, chapel, library, hair and nail salon.
For information, call (813) 264-8200, or visit AngelsSeniorLiving.com.
Published October 26, 2016
