Park Place makes smooth transition
Park Place of West Knoxville residents are experiencing a smooth transition after the facility, previously named Parkview Senior Living, underwent new ownership and a new name, Genna Minihan, Park Place Lifestyle 360 program director, said.
Jay McBride built the independent living facility nine years ago at 10914 Kingston Pike.
“In November 2015, [McBride] sold it to Five Star Senior Living,” Minihan said. “[Five Star] owns about 300 facilities in the United States, mostly in the Southeast, which is different than being owned by a smaller group.
“We’re in the process of changing over to the bigger company, but it’s going smoothly.”
The owners at Five Star saw Parkview Center’s success and sought the purchase, she said.
The facility’s name also changed in November 2015, as McBride still plans to build other facilities and wanted to hold onto the name, Parkview, Minihan said.
“[Five Star] wanted to keep ‘park’ in the name, so Park Place just seemed like a good name,” she said.
Other than changing signs, marketing literature and paperwork, residents have not seen big changes, but owners are looking at making physical upgrades in time, Minihan, whose title previously was activity director, said. Terry McKinney’s title also changed from manager to executive director.
“We’ve only added one new position in the business office,” Minihan said.
“It’s home,” Jean Baldwin, Park Place resident, said.
Bruce Mackey Jr., Five Star president and CEO, notified the facility’s residents in a letter Oct. 15, 2015.
“We want to assure you that Five Star will strive to maintain the same quality of service that you have experienced under the current ownership, and we will work to ensure that the changes to your daily experience will be minimal,” Mackey wrote. “It’s Five Star’s intention to keep the current community management and staff in place so that they may continue to serve you.”
Park Place serves residents ages 55 and older in an independent setting. It has 84 apartments, which include studio, small one-bedroom, large deluxe one-bedrooms and two-bedroom apartments with two baths.
Among the services, Park Place provides on-site management, four laundry rooms, chef-prepared meals three times a day, housekeeping service, exercise classes, a central mail area, a library, activity rooms, pharmacy delivery, health screenings, complete exterior maintenance of apartments and building and security.
The facility also took on Five Star’s holistic wellness program. Minihan said the facility already was doing the activities, but they were not done as the Five Star’s program, which focuses on social, intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual wellness.
“We want to give them the best years of their lives,” Minihan said. “We strive to have this community be like the song, ‘Cheers,’ a place where everyone knows your name.
“We want it to be a place where this is home.”
While Park Place is a non-medical facility, its staff will do medical reminders at residents’ request, and offers blood pressure checks once a week. They also may have therapists or nurses come in to serve them.
Minihan said as an independent facility, residents are free to do what they want. Some still have their own cars, but Park Place also provides transportation.
