“Having your friends around keeps you young,” declares Sandy Fickes.
The vibrant 76-year-old has spent her lifetime being active in her church, her community and with family and friends. At 23, Fickes moved to Doylestown where she raised a family of four, volunteered with Doylestown Hospital, the Village Improvement Association and Presbyterian Church of Deep Run. She has also been active in the Bucks County Choral Society and Bucks County Symphony and has traveled the world, with visits to Austria, China, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
While Fickes has no plans to slow down, she is finally ready to sacrifice a few things. “I am so happy to give up my home,” she says. “I loved every minute [of homeownership], but I am looking forward to giving it up. I am tired of getting professionals to do everything I used to be able to do. I want free time. I want to enjoy what I have.”
When considering where to enjoy her new lifestyle, Fickes’ decision was simple. “Pine Run was a natural choice,” she says. “My friends are here and my daughter is nearby in Bedminster Township. Those things are very important as I age.”
She also appreciates the assurance she gets from knowing that the not-for-profit retirement community is owned and operated by Doylestown Hospital. “I know it will be here for the long haul,” she says. Thanks to her longtime involvement, she knows the hospital is a reputable, well-run organization that offers its patients clear pricing. The same can be said for Pine Run Retirement Community, which provides prospective residents with all the figures they need to evaluate its affordably priced options. “Do a little math,” Fickes says. “When I compared my monthly expenses—services, utilities, insurance—it was worth it.” Pine Run Retirement Community’s convenient location and hospital affiliation also offer her peace of mind regarding her safety, security and access to care.
Pine Run Retirement Community offers residents living quarters that range from studio spaces to two-bedroom, two-bathroom deluxe cottages. Residents also enjoy housekeeping and meals in the community’s beautiful dining room. Fickes, who considers herself rather picky, says she enjoys cooking for herself but looks forward to the social aspects of visiting with friends during meals in the dining room. “It is important to be with people,” she says.
She has selected a 1,600-square-foot, two-bedroom unit that offers a place for her children to stay when they visit. It is a corner lot with views of Pine Run Park and double doors opening onto her own private patio, where she hopes to take up gardening. She has enjoyed selecting the interior details of her new home, too. The kitchen will feature full overlay cherry cabinetry, gray Corian countertops, gray walls, dark flooring and carpeting in the bedrooms.
“Going a little more modern in this place worked,” says Fickes, who spent more than a year decorating her previous home. “I am looking forward to buying new furniture. What woman wouldn’t?”
According to Pine Run Retirement Community’s director of marketing, Barbara Chierici, the company’s moving coordinator has been working with Fickes during the transition from her existing home to her new one. “Our moving coordinator is very good at working with [new residents],” Chierici says. “She doesn’t force them into anything. … Pine Run offers something for every pocketbook; we can create a space for you and you don’t have to pay top dollar to be happy.”
“People may have the misconception that you have to pay one thing, but you are offered a myriad of choices,” Fickes says. “Here, there is diversity available in what you want and what you want to pay.” She has certainly enjoyed the assistance offered by the moving coordinator. “It means everything in the world to have someone working with me, telling me what to do or not do,” she says. “They can accommodate you and what makes you happy. … I am going to get exactly what I want.”
Pine Run Retirement Community is in the midst of a renovation, going through and refurbishing each of its residences, as well as the communal spaces, such as the courtyard, where many of the community’s summer activities take place. “We are modernizing things,” Chierici says. “Our new style of architecture is reflecting Bucks County with accents in ‘country red’: shutters, doors and cupolas. We are bringing the outside in with side lights, skylights and dormers.” The interiors now also feature decorative exposed beams that include the community’s signature ironwork.
“Villagers come to Pine Run for the privacy in the housing, in the landscape and in the community,” Chierici says. “It is laid back. Residents respect one another’s boundaries. Like Bucks County, people here appreciate both the city culture and the country lifestyle.”
She describes Pine Run as a family-oriented community, home to couples and singles, and visited by family members of all ages. “We serve many decades,” she adds. Pine Run residents often attend community events, volunteer in local organizations and participate in other life-enrichment activities throughout the area.
Pine Run Retirement Community offers something for all of its residents’ varied interests, from a craft barn and woodshop to fitness classes and bus trips. All of the activities and amenities are tailored to enrich residents’ convenience and quality of life. Those who enjoy travel—like Fickes—can even choose to order a boxed dinner that will be waiting for them when they return from the day’s adventures.
“That’s what is nice about a community like this,” Fickes says. “You have control over what you want to do.”
Fickes is proud of her independence, and believes the decision to move to Pine Run will allow her to enjoy it even more in the future. “I still can think clearly and am in good health,” she says. “So now is the time—not when my kids have to [make the decision]. I want to save my kids the burden of packing up and taking care of the estate. More people should make that decision.
“People cling to ‘things,’” she continues. “Things are not important; family is important, and knowing you are in good care and can do what you want is important.”
Pine Run Retirement Community enables Fickes, as well as its other vibrant residents, to enjoy this luxury and so much more.
Pine Run Retirement Community
777 Ferry Road
Doylestown, PA 18901
800-992-8992 |
www.pinerun.org
