Anna Grant shares vision for senior living in Healdsburg
Anna Grant started her professional life working with one end of the community spectrum, kids. But she found her true calling and passion was with the other end — the seniors — and Grant is now bringing that passion to the Healdsburg Senior Center.
Grant has been working in the senior industry for nine years, after a stint in the private sector in Santa Rosa with Oakmont Senior Living luxury senior properties.
“I ended up working with seniors by pure chance,” she said.
Grant, who is originally from San Diego, has a degree in psychology from Dominican University, and moved to Sonoma County to work with troubled youth in a level 14 mental health institution for the mentally disturbed. Level 14 is the last level before patients get sent to a state lockdown facility, and she found herself doing full hands on restraints on kids from age 11 to 17.
“That was my full time job and for fun I started working part time at (Varenna in Santa Rosa) with seniors and I found I just really enjoy this generation. Varenna then offered me full time employment and it took off from there,” she said.
Though Grant has only been on the job in Healdsburg for three weeks, she is already gaining a rapport with the patrons there, as evidenced by the many invitations to join card and board games when you walk through with her. “My joke was that I work full time with kids and hang out with seniors for fun. And I still hang out with seniors for fun,” she said with a laugh.
What she is most interested in with her new position is the opportunity to work with seniors who may be in need in the community — a contrast from working with luxury senior properties. “If you stop to think about who you’re serving, you’re serving the people who can afford it,” she said of her previous position.
“I was always interested in doing some community service work, but I didn’t quite know how to get myself in. When I saw the post here I thought, ‘wow.’ I read the job description and thought ‘oh I can do all that, and its my people and I’ll be serving a broader spectrum.
“And I think that’s what has been the most rewarding aspect for me,” she continued. “Yeah, there’s people here that can afford to live anywhere but there’s also people here in Healdsburg who are lifelong residents who really do need a $4 a day lunch to survive. So let’s provide programs that keep them engaged and as contributing members of society.”
Though she is enjoying her shift from the private to the public sector for the depth of experience, she admits the bureaucracy takes some getting used to. “In the private sector you have your boss, you ask for finances, it’s all ready to go, it’s there,” she said.
“If you have to make a capital expenditure here, you have to go through the correct chain of command and go to a council meeting and a commission meeting and go through those routes. I would say that I’m learning the ins and outs, who the players are, who do you need to talk to get what you’re going to need, and I’m only three weeks old so there’s a lot to learn still.”
Grant knows change can be a challenge for her population, so she isn’t planning on making sweeping changes at the center, but she does have some small tweaks and goals in mind. The biggest one has to do with expanding the use of the center and its involvement in the community.
“I plan on the first one to two months to really observe and see and get to know these operations,” she said. “What are our shining aspects, what needs some polish, what needs some revamping? I do want to bring a more well rounded approach to the programming here.
“Here’s what’s working well: we have 435 members, and that’s awesome, but here’s my challenge; I don’t see 435 faces here, I see the same core group of folks,” she said.
“Senior is a scary word, there’s a stigma around being a senior. I want to bring more of the younger, active aging adult population in. So that’s going to be some twists in programming. It just gets them involved and talking to someone. Might be the only person they see all day. I really want this to be a place where people are comfortable to stop in say hello.”
Other topics she is hoping to tackle include programs to help with transportation and educational programs at the center. But, Grant knows the senior center is already pretty close to perfect.
“If I could say anything to the city of Healdsburg — you have a gem here, tap in to it. With 435 members, that says something, I’d love to see 435 faces come in and its something I strive to do. We’ll have some new stuff on the horizon, but we don’t make sweeping changes in our vintage. We’ll keep a good thing going and make some little improvements.”
