Enhancing the lives of Cloverdale’s seniors

“When I was a kid, I visited my great-grandmother at the nursing home and found it to be a really scary place,” recalls Jason Reynolds, 43.

As the new CEO at Cloverdale Healthcare Center, he is busy making sure his facility is just the opposite.

“It’s bright and airy. Our staff is cheerful,” Reynold said, “and our residents, most of whom are great conversationalists with wonderful stories to share, are our treasures.”

A recent morning-long visit from a few of Classroom Safari’s exotic animals is one of the innovative ways Reynolds is helping to enhance their quality of life. He also has his eye on a patch of grass next to the back entrance that he wants to replace with raised flower beds so residents can do a little gardening.

His goal is to provide regular on-site programs that will be of interest to both residents and the greater community.

While some of the residents can travel to the theater, stores or Citrus Fair, others are not able to go that far, and some dementia patients find outside trips too traumatizing.

“We have movie nights where friends and families are welcome,” Reynolds said. “We even have cocktail hour, serving ‘virgin’ drinks that contain all the real ingredients except alcohol. Our dietitian is always looking for ways to keep things interesting. Food is part of their memories, and having familiar foods brings them comfort.”

Reynolds grew up in a small town in Texas. Wanting to spread his wings and see more of the world, he decided Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service would be a great place to start. He attended college on a Navy ROTC scholarship and after graduating spent five years as a commissioned officer.

After working several years as a certified nuclear power engineer, an opportunity arose that allowed him to spend the last two years working for NATO on a base in Iceland.

“I ended up in an incredible job running a large organization and working with nations from both NATO and the former Eastern Bloc,” he said.

After his discharge, Reynolds earned an MBA in Marketing Strategy from the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia. When the person he was dating moved to San Francisco for a job, he decided to follow. The romance didn’t last, but his love affair with Northern California did.

Reynolds has been on the job in Cloverdale since May, after spending the past 14 years working as a liaison between surgeons and engineers on minimally invasive surgical devices for health technology companies Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic Endovascular and a number of startups.

“I really liked the idea of bringing patients great technology that improved surgical out-comes and successes,” he said. “Unfortunately, over time, the focus became more ‘return on investment’ than ‘patient outcome.’ That’s when I knew it was time to make a change.”

Not wanting to leave Sonoma County, Reynolds explored a number of career options, including leadership roles at the Humane Society, in environmental management and the senior care industry. Through this process, he discovered The Ensign Group, owners of the former Manzanita Manor, now known as Cloverdale Healthcare Center.

Reynolds says Ensign allows him to operate with a great deal of freedom rather than insisting he continue doing things the way they were done 50 years ago.

“A huge problem in California is the lack of new construction and the shortfall of beds,” he said. “Most facilities were built for previous generations and do not meet the expectations of boomers who often live into their 90s at a decent level of health and activity.”

Patients coming to these facilities still want to be an active part of the community. They have friends and still want to take part in the community around them.

“The VA recently supplied us with some special computers that are equipped for the visually impaired and those who may not be very computer savvy,” Reynolds said. “This is a huge gift for our residents.”

Although the average industry standard is a 40 percent employee turnover rate, Reynolds is trying to combat that by offering continuing education classes and scholarships for those wanting to become CNAs, LVNs and RNs.

“I want to develop a culture that says we’re family, and if you stay, you are going to be given an opportunity to grow and learn,” he said.

Another challenge is incorporating the facility into the community-at-large.

“Don’t be surprised if you look up on the hill one day and see our rooftop decorated for the holidays or our building outlined in lights,” he said. “For our sake, and especially for the sake of our residents, it is important that we stay visible in every way possible.”

Contact Cloverdale correspondent Mary Jo Winter at cloverdale.towns@gmail.com.