[00:00:05] Speaker A: The Michael Hatfield Re Max team presents real estate and more.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Bay Area real estate is different than in all of America. And why? What's up with homebuyers? What's on sellers minds? How is the market? And much, much more.
[00:00:22] Speaker A: Now here's your host, Michael Hatfield. Welcome back to the real estate and more show. Thank you for tuning in. Last week, the former executive director, director of 350 assisted living apartments was on the show and I became so interested in how wonderful the social aspect of these facilities are that we ran out of time. Fortunately, Mister Morales has agreed to come back this week to finish what yours truly did not get done last week. We are to continue our discussion on how incredibly important for folks on the back nine of the age spectrum to have purpose. Assisted living facilities operate for this very reason, to be social and provide purpose for our elderly. We're going to take up exactly where we left off.
Yeah. Is there more that you can say on memory care for us?
[00:01:17] Speaker C: Yeah, there is so much, it is alarming. Unfortunately, the number one priority on services is becoming Alzheimer's services and memory care.
Atria offers a two story community area that is securely protected.
A lot of misconceptions is, oh, they are in a locked facility.
Nothing is locked. Everything has an alarm. And the alarm, when you push the door, an alarm will go off to notify the entire staff that somebody's trying to leave. That is one of the biggest problems. We have residents who are in good shape, but their memory, unfortunately is no longer functioning the way it is. So it creates that uneasiness that they feel that they need to be someplace else. And having that area in Atria, Walnut Creek, offers so much peace of mind. Wow.
[00:02:28] Speaker A: I know my mother really enjoyed it there, and especially the employees that we talked about before, and especially Leo, because Leo has the heart the size of a lion. And that's why they gave him the nickname Leo the Lion. And he would not put up with anything that wasn't really, really excellent for residents. But it was a nice facility when we were there. I haven't been there for a number of years. I should drop by and see how it works now and so forth. Now you have a lineage of assisted living, do you not? Isn't there?
[00:03:02] Speaker C: Yeah. You know, it's a very stressful job, Michael. It takes, if you care. Exactly. I think that's the benefit of somebody who feels this is your calling.
I'm very proud to say the second generation. My daughter is, already, has been working with me since he was 15. She volunteered in the early years and little by little. She grew up in, in the environment. She worked as a, as a dining room person for a while. Sweet lady worked in the front desk, she worked in activities. And recently she's been promoted to be the director of Atria. The sales director at Atria Valley View.
It is, you know, as a father, seeing somebody follow your steps and do good. And do good. She is, man, she's so much better than I am that it fills my heart with joy to see her brightness. She has that spark on her eye and she doesn't know, but I go and watch her do her thing and it just fills me with joy and how much she cares for our residents. And that's the key. That's the key of everything.
[00:04:31] Speaker A: You really have it going there, Leo. Now I know you're retired, but I imagine they still have to consult with you on some issues because you know that gray hair that I don't remember and I know mine's thinning just a little bit. Don't look, guys, but I imagine she has to consult with you from time to time. Tell us a little bit about the process. Let's just say that Sue Jones wanted to come in and she has an interest. First thing would be a tour, would it? Not?
[00:05:02] Speaker C: Exactly. That is really.
This is where the difficulty comes.
Very hard conversations. When you came to visit mom and Thanksgiving and the house is not looking so great. Her appearance is not as sharp as she used to be. Every time you sweep the floor, you found a bunch of pills on the floor.
So that's why the staying at home becomes a situation that is not sustainable.
The process goes, a resident must be 65 and older.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: I qualify to qualify.
[00:05:43] Speaker B: Get out of here.
[00:05:46] Speaker C: 65 and older is just to create that continuity in regards of the number of what type is the resident that lives there.
Then the physician's report is required, meaning your doctor has to fill up a form that is approved by the state.
Describing is like a physical, you know, telling the needs of the resident.
That's where Joanne comes in and together with the primary doctor they analyze the services needed and that's part of the long term insurance. When you qualify for that and you have long term insurance that allows you to cover the expense of the care portion. So when all that is settled there is a, in California require a tb test for tuberculosis to make sure because it's a communal living and they share the dining room and all the interactions in the library and exercise classes and all that. It is part of the process of getting admitted. When all that is set, it's just like an apartment complex where you have your door, your door is closed. Our staff has the respectful approach of knocking first, unless you press your emergency button. Every resident of Atria receives an emergency button that allows them to communicate 24/7 with our staff that is on duty.
That is a piece of mind for a lot of the daughters and sons that, you know, my mom gets up late at night and she has fallen at home a couple of times. So it is extremely peace of mind to receive that type of service from.
From a caring caregiver that comes and assists your mom in her business and bring her back.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Incredibly, one piece, incredibly important. I remember that they would attend to her with mostly any of the needs that she had.
And, you know, it was like you could. Sometimes she'd wanted me to leave.
[00:08:12] Speaker C: Yes. May I? You know, at the beginning, the daughters that come, they used to hover. Mama, you know, like, feeling.
I promised my dad I was not gonna put her in a home, but that was exactly the, you know, if my daughter calls, tell the mom in my exercise class, tell her that I'm okay.
It creates a level of independence, and that's why atria is so good in fine tuning.
We have a fellow called Anthony who comes and does the exercise class. Man, I think most of the ladies go there because he's so good looking and he has a body man, that I wish I could have, but he does the exercise classes with them, and all the ladies enjoy so much. It is truly another amazing factor. You mentioned the singers. It just. It just changes the. The music is so powerful. The generation grew up with the radio and the big bands, and so when they start, it's amazing how quickly even our memory care. People start singing as soon as they hear one of those old tunes. It's part of it. It's amazing how quickly the memory gets juggled and they remember the words, what they were wearing, and, oh, this was so and so in Lake Tahoe. I remember I was with my husband.
It becomes. They leave it again.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Part of the therapy right there. Exactly, yeah, the social therapy.
[00:09:59] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: I like that.
[00:10:00] Speaker C: They better, they eat better, they are more relaxed.
That's how atria was able to project to us. And part of my job was just to transmit that to our entire staff.
[00:10:15] Speaker A: Well, you know, sometimes it's not easy to have a person that's been in their home for numbers of years, decades perhaps, to transfer to something like that. And that is why you have the ambassador club, to help them when things are not so bright at their own home. And they want to live in their home. In fact, I know someone very close to me has a mother that is elderly, and they're paying all of these funds for all of this care at her home. But quite frankly, I think it's missing the social element that is so darn important.
[00:10:54] Speaker C: It really is.
There has been an explosion in personal home care services, which is great in many ways, but unfortunately it keeps them isolated.
The person that goes there is not from the same generation. They don't eat the same kind of food. They don't think the same way. They are definitely there to take care of them, but there is no interaction. There is.
Unfortunately, most of the time they are glued to their phones.
[00:11:30] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:11:31] Speaker C: And they are, you know, they look for 2 seconds, oh, she's okay. And the tv, we talk about that tv. It's just so hard for a person to spec, to change their mind if that is what they do.
Seven days a week, 10 hours a day, it's. But in an assisted living community, there is an activities class. There is a painting class. There is a book club. Clubs are so amazing is the music hour. I remember clearly this generation, again, especially this group, they travel a lot. So it was called let's Travel. You will see these ladies doing these presentations when they went to France and they went to the Louvre. Oh, I remember seeing the Mona Lisa. And our activities director brings photos of the Mona Lisa. Oh, my God. I was right there.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Right there.
[00:12:30] Speaker C: Just. They're relieving that memory. It allows them to live again. Man. It's amazing. It's, it's. It truly could change your life.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:40] Speaker C: I mean, if you have a little bit of extra time, go to any of those communities. They will welcome you.
[00:12:46] Speaker A: And as a tour.
[00:12:47] Speaker C: As a tour.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Set up a tour.
[00:12:49] Speaker C: Which would be best is anybody that would have. I would like to visit somebody. Just those two minutes. A cup of coffee. By the way, we serve cappuccinos and lattes and all that in our bistros. But anyways, it is amazing to interact with that group. Unfortunately, they're not going to be here too long. Yeah, they are. They are. I just read an article that you.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: Have to value them.
[00:13:17] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:13:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:18] Speaker C: Yes. And the best way to honor them is just to give them five minutes of your time and your life will get enriched, man. It's, it's.
[00:13:29] Speaker A: Well, ladies and gentlemen, just a short break here. We're talking to Leo Morales, former executive director of Atria Valley View. 350 apartments, roughly 400 employees. They are assisted living. And I think that maybe we could say that assisted living is more like social living. And they're not all older people. There's younger people. You could be 65, you could be 70 to be a resident there. But it is a resident. It is not by any stretch of the imagination in my experience with having my mother cared for there as a resident. It's not a nursing home, it's not a rehabilitation center. It is a wonderful place to share the stories. And incidentally, we had Pavitucci on the program many times and we've talked about the difference between various generations, generations today, they like to play with their phones, they like to talk, you know, via text, they like to email, but they don't like to get front and center with facial interactions. And I have to say that my best moments are when I can talk with a person one to one. There's not nearly as many misinterpretations as there is with when I text out something or when I email out something I don't want have. I want someone to know, hey, you know, this guy's a nice guy. Michael's a nice guy. And the best way to communicate that is through all of a person's senses, the sense of sound, the sense of vision and all of those, it's not through the text. People of this generation are very, they enjoy, you know, doing that mom, you know, back, you know, she would go and you would knock on her door and she would open it up and it'd still be about seven in the morning and her hair would be all in curlers or whatever. She said, well, come right in, you know, just, we can go and we can have some breakfast. It's all fixed for us.
[00:15:35] Speaker C: We don't have to do anything clean. It is truly lost now because it has become now the pandemic too, really removed a lot of the social interaction.
[00:15:50] Speaker A: We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.
[00:15:56] Speaker D: Welcome to the real estate minute with Re Max expert Michael Hatfield. Michael, what traits should we look for in selecting an agent?
[00:16:03] Speaker A: Look for a deal maker with a positive attitude who will work to tirelessly for you. An agent who is adept in multiple offer situations, drafting contracts, marketing and advertising. A client's home is familiar with multiple cultures, experienced in mortgage financing, inspections and escrow is a huge asset to his client.
[00:16:23] Speaker D: What can you do as a plus for clients?
[00:16:25] Speaker A: Your agent is your eyes and your ears. One who works behind the scenes on your behalf. A great attitude, working well with others and keeping clients priorities. Number one is a given for us.
[00:16:36] Speaker D: Call 925322 7775 now to schedule an appointment or complimentary home analysis. For excellence in real estate, call the Michael Hatfield remax team at 925-32-2775 or go to michaelhatfieldhomes.com dot.
[00:16:53] Speaker A: Now let's get back to real estate and more with your host, Michael Hatfield.
[00:16:58] Speaker C: And that was a difficult time.
When I retired, I did reach out to my ex boss, who taught me so much, and he had the opportunity to say to me, Leo, can you work for us as a consultant?
And so I did some consulting.
That turned to be a full time job for a while because it was so hard to keep up with the shortages of staff and the interaction with the resident. Even though we were all wearing masks, it was so important for us to knock at that door and said, would you like a magazine? I remember the days of their flying in such a high end situations in Pan American, or they used to offer you magazines and the cocktails. And so we try to keep them all that interaction because, again, we are more wired to survive that isolation. But this group, they were social. They were. They were holding hands. They used to, I remember so well this gentleman who also was pilot, he shook my hand. He was like 88 years old.
[00:18:20] Speaker A: I remember that guy.
[00:18:21] Speaker C: He shook my hand like a vise grip. Yeah, that man had a handshake. Like, he always said, leo, when you shake somebody's hand, you look in the eye, you shake them like a man, and you say, it's very nice meeting you. That interaction, Michael got lost for a little bit, but we try to provide that. And again, the rewards of just those few minutes that we spend with them, you know, in that social connection, it was so important for.
[00:18:54] Speaker A: There's a lot to purpose. And when you give a reason and a purpose for a resident to go into the dining room, I want to go talk to Lily today. I want to get my panini or I want to talk with Joanne next door or whatever, you know, they'd always have their doors open so the residents could go in there and just sit down and talk to Flita. Flita would talk to you for hours. You know, she wouldn't kick you out like my wife tends to do.
[00:19:23] Speaker C: You know, it was really.
They grew up in neighborhoods where each other took care of their kids. They knew, you know, there were, like 510 moms in that block, so you couldn't get away with anything because they all talk. They all were part of this community that created that block or that neighborhood, you know, either the.
The connection that was all there, like an extended family.
That's why they reengaged when they come into assisted living, they feel that when it was time to go and eat, I remember two, three ladies, they used to knock on each other doors. Can we walk together to the dining room?
[00:20:12] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:20:12] Speaker C: Such a simple little thing. Just that chit chat from. Put the joy in their day.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: Michael, isn't it amazing?
[00:20:21] Speaker C: When they were feeling a little down, you know, they used to cheer each other. They used to come and. Let me help you. Let me. Oh, no, no. Put that little sweater you used to wear. And they. In a matter of minutes, each other helps so much to keep going because there are days that you don't feel so much, but that support in that little community really makes a difference.
[00:20:46] Speaker A: I think just the purpose is just so important for a person of any age. I thought about this the other day and I spoke with a good friend of mine, and, you know, I used to have this direction. You know, when I was growing up, I wanted to be an airline pilot. And that was my direction. That was my purpose. Hey, let's go out and see if we can hang out with some girls or something, or let's go cruise the Maine. Remember those days of cruising the Maine? No, I've got to study because I want to. I'm going to be an airline pilot. And I think that it's been. It was, that purpose was more beneficial for me than it was for me. Being part of being good for it.
[00:21:28] Speaker C: Right. You know, it really. And, you know, this generation is the one who created that purpose on us.
And it really. They.
I noticed that they were really not marking fixed parameters or you're gonna be a doctor. They just wanted you to succeed and be better than them. And that message was received very clear for our generation with such a strong models like world War two. And remember, they lived the depression, too. I mean, this generation lived hard times, man. We have no idea what that is. To be online to receive a bowl of soup.
[00:22:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:12] Speaker C: You know, no idea. They did live there.
[00:22:14] Speaker A: They did live it. It's incredible.
[00:22:16] Speaker C: It's incredible.
[00:22:17] Speaker A: Well, nobody wants to get older, but as we talked before, everybody is aging. That's just the way it goes in life. So how do, in back nine of the golf course, how do we best live that life? And I submit that the best way to do that is being communal, being part of, I can say, a tribe, but it's a community.
It's a place where people talk, where people listen, where people enjoy. And Atria has, I know, under your supervision, done a really great job of keeping them safe, keeping them nurtured and enhancing that social environment. Don't you say, Leo?
[00:23:00] Speaker C: Michael, it is key man.
For us, that message was so clear. Our leaders were very clear, at least during my time, to create this clear environment of sociability that will create the goodness of health posture, believe me, within days of, you know, they all came lunch and not willing to do things. Within that month, they changed their posture. They were ready to act because they see that their peers. One big problem, Michael, was the usage of their walkers. Oh, I don't use walkers, I don't use canes. And you know, when they saw somebody sweeping by ahead of them with their mail in it, you know, oh, I can use one of those. Can you get me a pink one?
I just remember so clearly how a peer will create the goodness on the next person that was not feeling so well.
[00:24:16] Speaker A: On a serious note, it's hard for the children of an aging parent to analyze these things, be subjective and not totally emotional and how to get them in their best life on the back nine. And actually that's not my term. That comes from Karen Owok. She's been on the show many times. She's a nutritionist and she's a person that works with longevity of life and she calls it the back nine. So that comes from our dear friend Karen Owok, just to let you know. But, so it's not an easy decision for, for a kid to say mom, you know, it's time that, you know, or dad that, you know, you know, move on to the next chapter. But the chapter's not bad.
[00:25:04] Speaker C: It's really not. Unfortunately, the resident at that time is not able to see ahead.
The key is to enlist.
You see that generation, especially the ladies, they see a male figure as the decision maker. Not that they didn't take a big role on that, it's just how they were wired. So if I could recommend the daughters and sons that are having, you know, the first sign is dad or mom, you can't drive anymore. You, I mean, you get in that two tone car, you can cause a lot of damage and.
[00:25:46] Speaker A: Yeah, not easy.
[00:25:49] Speaker C: You know, Atria offers a driver.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: Yeah. And you know the thing about Atria, it also helps consult the youngster that has a parent that is resisting because they're special. It's at it. They can take that tour and see it. So ladies and gentlemen, ask for Paulina. She's at Atria Valley View. She's the sales director. She'll just treat you right. But we're coming to a close here. Mister Morales, what would you like to leave us with today.
[00:26:20] Speaker C: Michael, I guess we were talking about earlier about the success, and I gotta be honest and humble about the fact that the good Lord has blessed me with a lot of things.
Being successful in what you do, something that fills our heart with joy.
And I was very successful because my heart and my mind and my soul was at the right place.
But, you know, you feel sometimes, oh, I did this. And it was not you.
It was the people that surrounded you, the people that showed up every day, the people that needed to be completely engaged in servicing. So anything you do in life, find people that can do things better than you and you will be successful.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: And you had two people that you wanted to credit.
[00:27:28] Speaker C: Flita, my right hand, Joanne, my left hand, Rosario. Rosario is being a little bit left out because she was the lady that manage the money. But these three ladies, they were my three queens. Without them, I would not be the man that I am. I was at the time in that success.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: So very good.
Well, giving purpose to an older person on the back 9 may not be. Or may not on the back nine that may have a different point of view of life is not always easy. But if the life occasion calls for your loved one, it is comforting to know there is much purpose to life in an awesome assisted living environment. Mister Leo Morales, former executive director, Atria Valley View facilities for people on the back nine we thank you for being on the show today.
[00:28:23] Speaker C: Thank you for having me, Michael. It was a blessing. Thank you.
[00:28:27] Speaker A: It's been our pleasure. So you've been listening to the real estate and more show interesting people, topics like assisted living, great people like Mister Morales. It has been a real great, great day for us.
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[email protected]. Radio that's Michael hatfieldhomes.com radio. The real estate and more show is also podcast on demand, on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, iHeart, Pandora and most major podcast platforms as well. We'll be back next week and hope you tune in once again. Have a very blessed week.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: Views and opinions expressed are based on current economic and market conditions and are subject to change. Information on the show provided for illustrator purposes only and does not constitute professional or legal advice. Information from sources deemed reliable, but accuracy and completeness not guaranteed. Michael Hatfield and the Michael Hatfield Remax team have no liability for information discussed on the show. Consult with qualified professionals prior to taking action.
