Park Place St. John: A Beautiful Place to Live for Seniors

If you are looking for a beautiful place to live for senior long-term care, Park Place may be the answer!

Frank Kray is a long-term resident of Park Place Health & Wellness Center of St. John. He’s the first to tell you a couple tough truths: He didn’t want to stop driving his car, and then he didn’t want to move on from his home. Life made these decisions for him though, and so he’s appreciative of the good things around him, and he’s every bit as willing to point out those.

Among those good things, he’s quick to say, is an attentive staff and a first-rate new facility. “It’s a beautiful place to live with beautiful people who take care of you,” he says.

Now in his 80s, Frank is philosophical about living at Park Place. He takes joy in simple pleasures — his recliner’s ease of movement at the push of a button; the number of channels available on his flat screen TV; even his upcoming haircut from a cheerful stylist. He’s happy that the staff lets him do for himself all the things he’s capable of doing, while at the same time they give quality care. He finds some parts of physical therapy easy and others take more effort, but the therapists know how to give him a variety.

“It’s a beautiful place to live with beautiful people who take care of you.”

On his nightstand, Frank keeps a Bible handy, along with a small devotional book called Footsteps. He starts his day with a prayer, and he happily quotes from memory a brief prayer of Saint Therese, known to history as “Little Flower.”

Park Place provides plenty of things to do, and the schedule is flexible, so Frank can choose his activities based on his mood. Lunch is his favorite meal of the day — that’s when he gets to meet up with everybody.

Frank appreciates the life he has at Park Place, and he sums it all up with a comparison that’s meaningful to a man who loves driving. “This is the Cadillac of the business!” he says. “It’s really the Cadillac of places like this.”