After 55 Years, The Terraces Continues Emphasis On Quality Of Life

ORLEANS – For many people, the terms “nursing home” and “assisted living facility” carry with them a certain stigma. As a senior care professional, Karen Blake is well aware of the unflattering perceptions that often follow facilities geared toward helping care for people in their later stages of life.

But since opening its doors in 1969, The Terraces Orleans has endured in large part by operating outside of those stereotypes. By adhering to a goal of stressing quality of life alongside quality care, the Terraces has not only managed to survive more than five decades in business, it’s well positioned to serve the community into the future.

“I think when you look at it at the Terraces, there’s no place like this on Cape Cod,” said Blake, who has been administrator at the facility on Daley Terrace for the past year and a half. “It’s so unique and so special.”

Peter Meade opened the Terraces in 1969 with a patient-first philosophy that carried on through decades under his family’s ownership. Now it continues under Plymouth-based EF Senior Care, which purchased the facility in 2021.

“It’s a feel good story,” said Bob Eisenstein, president and founding partner of EF Senior Care.

Set off Route 28 just behind Eldredge Park Way, the Terraces houses 52 residents, including 33 in its skilled nursing facility and 19 in studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments on the campus. Residents have their own private rooms, and specialized activities and meals are organized and prepared for them, helping to create a more familial atmosphere than is offered at other assisted living facilities. 

One unique aspect of the Terraces is its financial structure. According to Eisenstein, the Terraces is just one of two nursing facilities in the state to function as a “private pay” operation. As such, Terraces is not publicly funded through Medicaid or Medicare. It’s a model that Eisenstein said allows the Terraces to be more flexible than many other facilities. 

“It’s a really nice feature to have on the Cape now,” he said. “The percentage of elders is growing so high. It’s estimated to be at 25 percent or higher by 2030.”

And with that, the demand for local senior care services will undoubtedly grow with it. Blake and Eisenstein said careful attention is given to industry trends and innovations. But much of the Terraces’ success over the years is rooted in the fundamentals. That includes consistent ownership, Eisenstein said.

“Stability of ownership speaks volumes for the longevity of nursing homes,” he said. “We’re sort of bucking the trend. Unfortunately there’s a lot of turnover going on with other facilities.”

Blake, meanwhile, gives credit to the Terraces’ staffers, some of whom have been there for decades. That longevity plays a large part in elevating the facility’s level of resident care.

“I have staff in the kitchen that have been here for over 40 years,” she said. “I have CNAs that have been here for close to 25 years. There’s just a connection that they have with the families that’s just unbelievable.”

And as a small operation, the Terraces has been able to quickly react and adapt to changes and challenges facing the senior care industry. That ability was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eisenstein said. While nursing facilities were among the hardest hit by infection at the outset of the pandemic, he said the Terraces were able to put policies and procedures in place in advance, which helped minimize the impacts of the virus on the facility.

Staying small has had the added benefit of allowing the facility the ability to work closely and build partnerships with various community agencies and organizations. Blake said Terraces staff works closely with the Orleans Council on Aging, while residents and staff were invited this year by the Cape Cod Baseball League to throw out the first pitch at an Orleans Firebirds game at nearby Eldredge Park.

“Becoming an integral part of the community is where we want to be,” Eisenstein said. “That’s different from many other nursing homes, unfortunately, that aren’t able to do that. They’re so busy taking care of their residents.”

For Blake, the joy in her work comes from seeing the impact of services on her residents. She and Dennis McLain, the facility’s activities director, work closely on coming up with new programs to engage residents. Recently, that included converting the facility’s dining room into a bistro and cafe, a move she said has proven very popular.

  “I see people thrive in this environment,” she said. “If they’re at home and they’re isolated and alone, they come here [and] they have socialization. They have three wonderful meals a day. You see people in hospice actually graduate from hospice. That says a lot about how beneficial this setting can be as well. It’s not just end of life [care], it’s socialization.”

On Thursday, a celebration will be held on Daley Terrace to honor the facility’s 55th anniversary. In addition to food and music, a State House proclamation will be read in recognition of the Terraces’ years of service, while some longtime staff members will also be recognized.

Blake said the celebration is a “thank you” to all of the people and organizations that have supported the Terraces through the years, as well as a reminder of what it continues to have to offer the region.

“Everybody knows the Terraces in Orleans,” she said. “I think it’s just continuing that tradition and just letting people know that we’re still here, and we’re just as special 55 years later as we were the day we opened.”