Heritage at The Plains resident Don Carter gets ready for his ride in a Porsche Boxster, kicking off the new “Tree of Dreams” program. (Photo provided)

Don Is Living the Dream

By DARLA M. YOUNGS
ONEONTA

Thanks to a program introduced in April, Heritage at The Plains at Parish Homestead is making residents’ dreams come true.

Heritage at The Plains, a senior living community located at 163 Heritage Circle in Oneonta, features independent living, assisted living, memory care and temporary stay options. The new program, “Tree of Dreams,” is designed to identify special experiences for which residents yearn or achievements to which they aspire.

“The program is designed for a resident to get their lifelong dream fulfilled,” explained Kristen Jones, director of sales and marketing. “We hand out a questionnaire form to all the residents to fill out. They write down their accomplishments in life and also things they wish they had time to do.

“We wanted to create a program that would inspire people—keep the residents happy and looking forward to something. Even if it’s not their dream, it may be that of a close friend,” Jones said.

This past Tuesday, June 27, Heritage at The Plains made their first resident dream a reality, when Don Carter—a resident since July of 2022—enjoyed his first ride ever in a Porsche. To achieve this, staff used Facebook and a post that began, “Heritage at The Plains is in search of a Porsche!” The post goes on to explain the Tree of Dreams program and reads, “We have selected our first resident for this program and a dream of his would be to take a ride in a Porsche! So, we are calling any and all to help us fulfill our first dream within our community.”

Thanks to Phoebe Reese, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Bassett Healthcare Network, Carter enjoyed a nice, leisurely drive in style, in a 240 horsepower, five-speed, six-cylinder Porsche Boxster.

Jones—going on two years with The Plains—is one of three employees directly responsible for implementing the Tree of Dreams program, along with Executive Director Trudy Claudy and Activities Director Deborah Ziegler. The corporate office came up with the idea and fleshed it out behind the scenes, according to Jones, and it is up to the three of them to roll the program out into The Plains community and implement it.

“We have a Tree of Dreams wall started in our community,” Jones said.

As resident dreams are realized, staff will take photos of their journey that will then be hung on the wall for all to enjoy.

Heritage at The Plains has approximately 100 residents among its various housing units and about 50 employees, Jones said.

“We have independent living apartments, assisted living apartments and memory care apartments (a safe place for residents with dementia), complete with living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom,” explained Jones.

Assisted living and memory care apartments also include the cost of having care aides and nurses 24/7.

“We are a beautiful senior living community that allows residents to feel comfortable in their home, visiting with friends and embracing the moments that Heritage at The Plains senior living provides,” Jones said.