Guide to Retirement Living: The Baldwin

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

The past year has been a time of change and evolution for New Hampshire retirement communities. We reached out to several administrators to learn how things are going, what recent challenges have revealed and how residents — and potential community members — can feel secure about their retirement living decisions.

Life Plan Community is a newer term that isn’t familiar to some. Can you explain what it is? 

Maria Byrne, Director of Sales
The Baldwin
1E Commons Drive
Londonderry, NH 03053

“A few years ago, the senior living industry began adopting the term Life Plan Community to replace continuing care retirement community, or what some call a CCRC. While Life Plan Communities are CCRCs with a full continuum of care, the new term is designed to reflect a newer, more modern approach to senior living. Aging is a natural process — not an illness — and retirement should be an exciting stage of life. At The Baldwin, residents will remain in control of their futures and live their lives according to their own choices. They’ll have access to any care they may need, but we’ll never shuttle anyone through a predetermined sequence of care levels. That’s an old way of doing things that doesn’t fit the way people want to live now. So, as a term, Life Plan Community best fits The Baldwin’s innovative, forward-thinking approach.”

Let’s talk about the pandemic. Since The Baldwin hasn’t yet been built, what has your experience been and how would you handle a similar situation should it arise in the future? 

“Of course, we have lots of experience from our sister community, Edgewood LifeCare Community in North Andover, Massachusetts, so that will inform the plans we’ll have in place for any future situations. But, more importantly, we’ve worked with architects and engineers to create a truly cutting-edge, innovative community that incorporates everything we know about what it takes to remain healthy as we age. As part of that initial process — which occurred long before anyone ever heard of the pandemic — we looked at how we could best empower residents to remain independent, healthy and safe. As a result, The Baldwin’s award-winning design is light years ahead of older, existing communities.

“To give you two examples, the buildings all have their own exterior entrances, so they can be divided into smaller segments. This would allow people to come and go from their homes without having to go through common areas. In addition, all apartment homes are fully independent with regard to ventilation and air exchange, so there’s no shared air between residences or between residences and other areas of the buildings. The Baldwin has been well-designed for whatever the future holds.”

When should a person or couple consider moving to a community like The Baldwin?  

“The sooner the better! One of the most common things we hear from residents at our sister community is ‘I wish I had moved in sooner.’ Don’t wait until you think you need health care. Move in while you’re still young and healthy enough to take full advantage of everything the community offers. The average age of The Baldwin’s Founders — people who have made a deposit on their new home — is 74. They now have the opportunity to plan for a stress-free move when The Baldwin opens in 2023. And they’ll be young enough to enjoy everything about this innovative new community.”