Leading Age Academy Provides Innovative Training for Fuller Village Team

Milton, MA –After working for more than 30 years in senior housing, including Vi Senior Living in Maryland, Sherburne Commons in Nantucket and Village at Laurel Lake in western Massachusetts, Andrea Doherty thought she had seen it all.  From skilled nursing and memory care to assisted living and, most recently, independent living at Fuller Village in Milton, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her position as Marketing & Operations Director at Fuller Village where she has worked since 2016.

So when Fuller Village Executive Director Deborah Felton offered Andrea the opportunity to apply for The Leadership Academy (TLA), a 10-month intensive program conducted by LeadingAge, which culminates with a “graduation” at the Annual Convention, Andrea was excited about the opportunity if she was accepted.

After just a few weeks into the TLA program, Andrea realized that while, in fact, she did know much of what was being done in senior housing, the TLA provided a much broader exposure to the gaps in the field of aging services, combined with learning about reflective leadership practices to learn how to have the most impact as a leader on Fuller Village’s management team.

When asked about the benefits of The Leadership Academy, Andrea said it was very impactful to be a member of the Academy during this unprecedented time of a pandemic. It provided a broad viewpoint of aging services as an industry across the country, not only for the clients we serve, but also all the front-line workers who serve our clients.   “It was a fabulous  opportunity and forum to be with other non-profit senior care providers throughout the United States to share ideas on how they approach serving seniors at all levels with the most advanced care and social programs during one of the most challenging times in recent history,” Andrea remarked. “While it’s important to be dancing on the dance floor, it’s equally important to see the bigger picture from the balcony,” she added. The Leadership Academy provided a forum for that “bigger picture.”

Deborah Felton feels so strongly about the importance of the work LeadingAge does for the senior living and aging services industry that she had two other Fuller Village staff attend the Annual LeadingAge Conference in Atlanta this fall with Andrea.

“To remain a leader in this industry and to provide the most innovative thinking and social environment for our residents, it’s important for members of our team to see and hear what other leaders in senior housing are doing around the country,” Deborah said.  “LeadingAge provides that perspective and insight that can’t be learned just by doing our jobs each day,” she added.

Joey DiGiano, Operations and Executive Assistant and Daniel McGarr, Project Coordinator at Fuller Village, attended the four-day conference in Atlanta with Andrea.  For all three, it was an opportunity for them to learn and see what other senior providers and communities in the United States are doing to meet the needs of today’s seniors and prepare them for future generations.   “There were discussions about the latest technology to assist seniors, the topic of ageism and its evolving role in society, and ways to attract and retain staff, so you took something away from every session,” Joey said.

“As a leader in the senior housing industry, we need to be more proactive and not just reactive to the needs of today’s seniors,” Andrea remarked.  Fuller Village’s involvement in LeadingAge, and our exposure to what other industry leaders are doing throughout the country by participating in The Leadership Academy, will help keep us in the forefront in the future,” she concluded.


Fuller Village selects Best of Care Inc. as preferred home care provider

Milton and Quincy, Mass., December 27, 2017 – Family-owned home care agency Best of Care Inc. has been selected by independent senior living community Fuller Village as its preferred provider of private-pay home care services to Fuller Village residents. The agency began providing services at Fuller Village on December 18, 2017.

Fuller Village chose Best of Care because it offered a high level of quality service that its residents expect, according to Fuller Village Executive Director Deborah Felton. Best of Care’s onsite home care aides allow Fuller Village residents to add personalized assistance services as they wish, paying only for what they need, when they need it.

“We wanted to partner with an agency that would be responsive to residents’ diverse in-home care needs and in tune with our community’s values,” said Felton. “Best of Care came highly recommended; we’ve been impressed with their approach and philosophy.“

“We are excited to expand our private pay business into the Fuller Village community,” said Best of Care President and COO Kevin Smith. “There are many things that connect us: We are both local, independent, non-franchise organizations. Our personalized approach can support residents of the community at any stage in their continuum of care - whether it is arranging service upon hospital discharge, delivering 24/7 care or simply providing an hour of housekeeping.

“Best of Care is an on-site resource not only for residents of the Fuller Village community, but also their family members,” Smith added. “Beyond home care service delivery, we also plan to present an interesting series of programming including blood pressure clinics, wellness prevention initiatives and family caregiver support groups.”

About Best of Care

Best of Care is a family-owned and operated home care agency headquartered in Quincy, Mass. that has delivered home care services to Massachusetts communities since 1981. Best of Care provides an extensive array of home care services to over 100 towns and cities throughout Greater Boston, the South Shore, the South Coast, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard – with offices in Quincy, Raynham, New Bedford, and South Dennis. Services include personal care, homemakers and companions, hospice care, nursing care management and specialty services as they relate to dementia, psychiatric and acquired brain injury care.  Best of Care Inc. was named a 2014 Family Business of the Year finalist by the Family Business Association of Massachusetts.  President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Smith serves as Vice President, Executive Committee Member, Board Member and Technology Committee Chair of the Home Care Aide Council of Massachusetts.  Visit www.bestofcareinc.com, follow on Twitter @bestofcare and Facebook www.facebook.com/bestofcare