Testimonials

Please take a moment to read what residents and family members have to say about Parker Ridge:

Welcome Respite (a letter to Christopher Place Senior Communities)

I am a resident in one of the cottages at Parker Ridge. Presently, I am in respite care in assisted living at the Inn at Parker Ridge after a recent surgery. I am writing to tell you that the care I have received here has been superb. The entire staff is to be commended. I feel very strongly that you should know how special Parker Ridge is, how fine the staff is, and how lucky you should be to have such an excellent place in your ranks.

—Jennifer Greene

Parker Harbor

For many of us, Parker Ridge represents the safety and security of a good anchorage after the daily cares and concerns of active life-styles in more populated locales. This is particularly true for those who also own vacation camps or summer homes on this lovely peninsula, but are in need of a good "winter harbor" and alternate lodging throughout the year.

When Patty and I joined the Parker Ridge clan in 1998, we were already in love with the area, having spent twenty-five summers with youngsters in the camp business in Brooksville, and then thirty more vacationing from school-mastering at our family retreat on Eggemoggin Reach. We knew we'd appreciate the winter-time convenience and collegiality in the carefree atmosphere of Parker Ridge, in addition to the gourmet enticement of dinners so readily available. Shoveling, plowing, mowing, and maintenance needs would now all be covered, and we have retained a longer-range mooring for the later stages of our "voyage", in a most pleasant, well designed community in beautiful Blue Hill.

We have not been disappointed with our winter lives at Parker Ridge and find ourselves back with friends frequently for meals, activities, and meetings throughout the remainder of the year.

We all share in a sense of confidence that a great amount of careful attention is being spent in charting the course for our future "life on the Ridge."

Come join us for Sunday Brunch sometime soon, and enjoy the camaraderie. It’s a friendly place, and the folks are as warm as the meals.

—Rudy Deetjen

Community spirit flourishes at Parker Ridge

The sense of community here convinced me to choose Parker Ridge. It was apparent not only in the kindness people showed me during my temporary stay last winter, but in the caring and consideration they show to one another. —Anne Cushman

Not just a typical retirement community

I don't want this to be the typical paragraph you read about retirement communities with their "warm atmosphere, many amenities, breathtaking views, great dining and interesting activities". They all say that. What you cannot know until you live at Parker Ridge is what your life will be like. For some reason, probably "the breathtaking view," my mom and dad moved in here several years ago. They both are gone now, which makes me an authority on this place and how it works. When you first move in you will have "fabulous food" in a dining room with a "breathtaking view" but it is the interesting people around you that make it what it is. For me over the years when I visited, it got to the point where I didn't care whose table I was at for dinner. Every single person at Parker Ridge had an intriguing story to tell. I just listened to them.

Parker Ridge is just what it appears to be when you first drive up the road. What you may not realize until you live here is that it is small enough to know everyone and large enough to be fulfilling every day. When friends back home asked where mom and dad were, I liked to say, "They are living on a cruise ship with a concrete foundation on top of a mountain in Maine. Like the Egyptians did, they live with a staff of housekeepers, waiters, chefs and gardeners. They eat every night in fancy dining room with white tablecloths and wake up in a room with a view." That brings me to the other thing you cannot know about this particular place until you live here. I know it will sound sappy when you read this but tears still well up in my eyes when I remember all the people here who did so much for my parents. Like the people who live here, the people who work here are a varied crew of different personalities with all kinds of stories. I can tell you they are altogether a loving group with good leadership. Unlike other retirement communities, this one is small enough to care for each other, big enough to be interesting every day and old enough to have the experience to deal with whatever happens in life.

That's it, I can't think of anything else I'd want.

—Rob Kinnaird

Assisted living at Parker Court

Cherie's mother lived at Parker Ridge from 1994 until she died in 2006 at the age of 102. Here is a statement she made during an interview with Jim Straub of The Ellsworth American:

“It would have been very, very painful and difficult for her to make a physical move to another facility at that fragile time in her life. To not have to do that was a gift for her and, certainly, to her family. She stayed in her home with her friends surrounding her, not just the other residents, but the staff. That was psychologically just a boon.”

A wonderful community

One of the most difficult things my siblings and I ever had to do was move our mother from her home of 50 years in Ellsworth, Maine, to an assisted living facility. The thought of placing my mother in a small cramped room in a place where her movement would be restricted was very depressing. And then we found Parker Ridge, a wonderful community located nearby in Blue Hill. Not only were the facilities bright and sunny, but each apartment was large enough to make it seem like a home. The Parker Court staff worked closely with us to make my mother’s transition as easy as possible. Together we worked out a plan that allowed my mother the freedom to walk the beautiful grounds where the staff and residents alike always kept a keen eye on her. My mother loved the sunny dining room. She had her own chair by the window where she could watch the birds come to the feeders, and on warm days she would sit outside in the sun and talk with the other residents and staff.

As her Alzheimer's progressed, over the seven years she lived at Parker Court, the staff took steps to help her better cope with her illness. The chefs and wait staff paid close attention to her dietary needs and the CNAs provided her with extra cues to help reduce her confusion.

When my mother became ill and required hospice care, we were so happy and relieved to learn that we could keep her at Parker Ridge in her own apartment. The staff took wonderful care of her and us. She died peacefully, surrounded by people who loved her.

—Lindsay Carlisle

When to make the move to a retirement community

For every individual or couple there is a right time to make that move, but to recognize and accept it often is anything but easy. Each case is unique, with many different factors shaping the decision. There is, however, one general rule which, though flexible, if accepted and followed, has in most cases proved valid, and it is this:

Make your move earlier rather than later.

Of course there are factors such as the loss of one's life partner that can precipitate a quick decision. However, for single persons or couples who have entered their 70's and are still active and in good health, entering a retirement community may be thought of as something for consideration in the future. "Goodness, I'm not ready for that yet!" is often the reaction. The trouble is, when the time comes you realize, unpleasantly, that you really need the support provided by a retirement community, it is already too late to enjoy the pleasures that such a community can offer when you are still able to enjoy them.

My wife and I had an ideal life in a home in Brooksville. We were, we thought, still young, at 69 and 73, and certainly very active physically in the care of our home and acres, but "perhaps a little less so than the year before" So, on an imaginary sheet of graph paper we drew a curve, projected over the next 10 years, representing our estimated energy level. The curve was of course a downward one and getting steeper year by year. With a bit of a shock we looked at where that curve of realistic expectations would land us 10 years later. Other considerations began to pop up in our thinking. The house would need some foreseen maintenance work. That we could plan for. But what about the unforeseen unbudgeted repairs that had hit us occasionally in the past? There might, and probably would be, more during the next 10 years and would we be able to handle these, as well as the rising town taxes and costs of live-in help as our own physical strength diminished?

So we started looking into retirement communities, and when Parker Ridge took shape on the drawing board just next door in Blue Hill, we decided that prudence dictated a move to it as soon as it was ready, which was 2 years later.

Moving is always stressful, and more so as we age. We were able to do the job ourselves with help from our nearby sons. We settled in and had a great sigh of relief and said: "Thank God we did it now and not later!"

We feel that we made the right decision. The cares of home-ownership were lifted from our shoulders. The financial uncertainties of home-ownership were left behind us, and instead we had the predictable monthly maintenance fee, which we could budget for, factoring in the certain yearly increases for rising cost of operation. Best of all, we found ourselves among congenial and friendly fellow members and engaged in new activities. It was like starting a new life, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now 14 years later, having moved down that imaginary curve to a point where our energy and physical strength have significantly declined, we realize that making the move today would be a bit less rewarding and certainly much more stressful and emotionally dislocating.

Retirement in a community such as ours can be truly delightful if the move is made in good time!

—Dick & Mary Chase