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Students participate in Master Class

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Burke to speak at LCCC commencement

<p>HAZLE TWP. &#8212; A background in cable television isn&#8217;t exactly a natural path toward owning and operating a personal-care home, but that&#8217;s how it worked out for the Moisey family of the Hazleton area.</p><p>The Laurels Senior Living Community celebrated its 14th year of operation on May 1.</p><p>The facility opened in 2003 with just seven residents. Today, after an expansion that added a wing to the existing structure, it houses almost 90.</p><p>Administrator Jenn Moisey, a Wilkes University graduate, said her parents, Robert and Janice (Gans) Moisey, owned the land The Laurels is built on, but they initially were going to play only a minor role in the development.</p><p>&#8220;The people who wanted to build this personal-care home here were looking for investors, and my parents were going to be just silent investors,&#8221; Moisey recalled. &#8220;And then when the whole thing started, they became more and more involved. The original people who came up with the idea then backed out. So it was kind of left to the investors to do something.&#8221;</p><p>For Moisey, who was in pharmacy school at the time, it meant changing her course of study so she could help her family run the new venture.</p><p>Construction started in 2001. By 2007, less than four years after the business opened, it was clear The Laurels needed to expand from its original 62-person capacity.</p><p>The site now has a capacity of 100.</p><p>Like any personal-care home, The Laurels is a private-pay facility, unlike nursing homes, which are covered by Medicare and sometimes Medicaid.</p><p><strong>Assistance levels</strong></p><p>The Laurels offers three levels of care: independent/active living, personal care I and II; and respite/short-term care.</p><p>Independent living is for seniors who simply want a maintenance-free lifestyle or don&#8217;t want to live alone after the death of a spouse or another loved one.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve had residents who&#8217;ve had their own vehicles here,&#8221; Moisey said.</p><p>The residents who belong to the personal-care categories need varying amounts of assistance with ADLs, or Activities of Daily Life. They include getting dressed, getting in and out of their wheelchairs, and bathing.</p><p>Other residents stay at The Laurels on a short-term basis, such as rehabilitation patients who aren&#8217;t ready to be on their own yet. They can get physical and occupational therapy on-site before moving back home.</p><p>There is another type of short-term care as well.</p><p>&#8220;If a family says they are going to Disney World for the week &#8230; and grandmom lives with them, then she can come and stay here for the week,&#8221; Moisey noted.</p><p>Veterans or the spouse of a veteran are eligible for discounts through the government, and some could get as much as $900 a month toward their bill. That&#8217;s roughly half of what it costs to stay at The Laurels on a monthly basis.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Couldn&#8217;t get it better&#8217;</strong></p><p>&#8220;There are certain things we do different than other personal-care homes,&#8221; Moisey said.</p><p>That includes daily housekeeping and twice-a-week laundry service. It&#8217;s all part of a resident&#8217;s monthly rent.</p><p>And don&#8217;t forget about the food, which is prepared by a head chef. One recent afternoon, residents had their choice of crab cakes or haluski for lunch.</p><p>&#8220;All our meals are home-cooked,&#8221; Moisey said.</p><p>Dorothy Dutz, 77, moved in a few months ago and already loves it.</p><p>&#8220;I cannot tell you how tremendous the place is,&#8221; said Dutz, who suffers from a heart condition and degenerative arthritis, which she refers to as her friend &#8220;Art.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The help and the staff, you couldn&#8217;t get it better. It&#8217;s always with a smile, not with a frown. I recommend it to people. You couldn&#8217;t pick a better place.</p><p>&#8220;To me, if you wanted to try something different, you&#8217;d have to have a reason,&#8221; she added. &#8220; &#8230; You have nothing to complain about (here). I don&#8217;t plan to move.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Shown is the long driveway entrance to The Laurels Senior Living Community in the Hazleton area. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Laurelsentrance.cmyk_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Shown is the long driveway entrance to The Laurels Senior Living Community in the Hazleton area. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Laurels-exterior.cmyk_.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Laurels Senior Living Community in the Hazleton area has a maximum capacity of 100. It opened in 2003 and expanded in 2007. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Laurels-exterior.cmyk_.jpg</photo1><caption1>The Laurels Senior Living Community in the Hazleton area has a maximum capacity of 100. It opened in 2003 and expanded in 2007. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Michael Reich</p><p>mreich@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>THE LAURELS</strong></p><p>&#8226; <strong>Year opened</strong>: 2003</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Owners</strong>: Robert and Janice Moisey</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Address</strong>: 23 Faith Drive, Hazleton, near the Laurel Mall</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Phone</strong>: 570-455-7757</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Website</strong>: <a href="http://laurels-seniorliving.com/" target="_blank">Laurels-SeniorLiving.com</a></p><p>&#8226; <strong>Notable</strong>: The oldest resident ever to live at The Laurels was 105, and the current oldest is 103. &#8230; The facility actually is located on property situated in two townships: Butler and Hazle.</p></factboxMeta></div>

Senior living in Hazleton area: expanded offerings at The Laurels