Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Fellowship Home at Brookside, a home-assisting community, has been operating since 1978. This past week, it celebrated the grand opening of a new expansion called Willow Wood.

Willow Wood is one of three living areas providing three levels of care.

“[Willow Wood] is designed for seniors seeking a more independent lifestyle and an amenity-rich environment while having 24-hour access to our staff,” said John LaHood, administrator at Fellowship Home. “Also, the staff can assist with medical appointment reminders, medication management, personal laundry service and housekeeping.”

The other two areas — Laurel Oaks and The Elms Memory Care — provide more enhanced care. Laurel Oaks is convenient for seniors who need additional attention and safety.

“Laurel Oaks is ideal for someone who has been hospitalized right after surgery, and needs some special attention after that,” said LaHood.

The Elms Memory Care will best serve seniors in all stages of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Some of its features include secured entry and exits, and plenty of indoor and outdoor space for walking and exercise, according to fellowshiphome.net.

“Now more than ever, we feel like we are ready to offer a new standard of living for seniors, and we are able to give the people anything they want,” he said.

Wilma and Herbert Schroer have moved to Fellowship Home three weeks ago. Wilma Schroer said that she was in a hospital recently, and the doctor told her to go there for a rehabilitation.

“After we came here, we decided to live here permanently,” Wilma Schroer said.

“It feels like a family out here,” she said. “They [the employees] are so nice — whatever you decide, they try to give it to you. They make you feel like a king and a queen.”

She said she has visited friends at other nursing homes, but nothing could be compared to this one.

“(This place) gives you a homey feeling like when you were a child going to your grandparents’ house,” Wilma Schroer said.

Now, she and her husband are moving in a larger room in Willow Wood.

Amenities include private bathrooms, small kitchens, temperature control, nurse call system (a button in each room that residents can use in case they need immediate assistance), curbless showers, fold-up seats, patio units, theatre, fitness center, library, media center with computers, full dining service, beauty and barber shop, transportation and church services.

Since his family has operated Fellowship Home for 31 years, LaHood said their experience provides very competitive and quality services.

“We hope that this new addition will encourage people to embrace the aging process and to make the most of every day,” he said.

For additional information, visit fellowshiphome.net, or call 244-9200.