By Alan Suderman
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

About 200 Eagle’s Trace residents and staff clad in faux construction hats let out a big cheer when Executive Director Kevin Knopf threw the first shovel of dirt on the community’s newest construction venture: Renaissance Gardens.

Celebrating life
Erickson Vice President of Operations Ben Unkle told the crowd that the new facility would fulfill the promise of providing a continuum of care for the residents of  Eagle’s Trace.

The new extended-care neighborhood will have facilities for assisted living, long-term nursing and Alzheimer’s care, and short-term rehabilitation.

Unkle predicts that having Renaissance Gardens on campus will allow people at Eagle’s Trace to live life to the fullest. “Our goal is to celebrate life,” Unkle says.

There if you need it
Tom Stephens, president of the Resident Advisory Council, thanked Knopf and Unkle for being true to their word on behalf of the people who live at the Houston community.

“Go back in your memory when you were considering buying into the Eagle’s Trace lifestyle,” Stephens told the crowd. “And you thought that if one day you needed assisted living or long-term care, it’d be nice if it was right there for you. Well, that day is here, and today is a great day.”

An insurance policy
Jim and Evelyn Haring, among the first residents to move into Eagle’s Trace, find comfort in knowing that there will be an extended-care facility right on campus.

“You can’t predict where your health will be in ten years,” Jim Haring says. “This building is like an insurance policy.”

“And our children are happy too,” Evelyn Haring says. “They like knowing that we’ll be well taken care of.” To those who are considering moving to Eagle’s Trace, Jim Haring says: “You’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot—now is the time to move in.”

The new building is scheduled to be complete in 2009.