Are you thinking about moving into a retirement community but don’t know where to start looking or what to ask? Then the Tacoma Senior Living Community Tour might be the answer.

“We’ve hosted this tour six times in the past three years, and all to multiple van capacity,” said Jason Kitchel, sales and marketing director at Narrows Glen, one of the communities on the tour that includes guided tours by van. “It has been so rewarding to host this event.  At the end of each tour, participants consistently tell us, ‘We are so happy that we came today!  It really was informative, and it answered a lot of our questions regarding retirement living.’

“This is such a great community service for seniors, most of whom just remember what their grandma’s nursing home looked and smelled like,” Kitchel said “Retirement living and assisted living these days is so much different.”

The tour will be hosted on Aug. 16 from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The participating communities include Franke Tobey Jones, Merrill Gardens, Narrows Glen, Tacoma Lutheran Retirement Community, and The Weatherly Inn. 

“Together, we want to make sure you are well-informed about the options for senior living communities in the Tacoma area,” said Linda Lee, community relations director at the Tacoma Merrill Gardens.  “We want to help seniors find the very best community that will fit their wants, needs, desires, location and budget.”

 The program of the day is as follows:

• 9:45a.m. Start at one of the five communities. Hear a short presentation about senior communities and the day’s activities. Tour that community.
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Get aboard the community van or drive your own car and go to the next community.  Each van will have a representative from that community to answer questions. Each van will stop at all five locations, or you can drive yourself and visit the communities                                                             you choose. When the tour ends, you’ll be returned to your starting community.

For more information or to RSVP, call 253-756-7562 by Aug. 14 to reserve your place on the tour and/or vans. Transportation services are limited, so RSVP today, organizers said.

“We’ve found that most of the seniors on this tour are just starting the process of looking around and seeing what communities are in the area and what they have to offer,” said Christine Hall, senior director of marketing at Franke Tobey Jones and the creator of this tour.

Hall said the tour provides a wide array of information.

“Participants can compare prices at each community, tour a few apartments, taste the food at each community, walk through some of the grounds and get a good sense of how each of them compare,” she said. “At the end of each of the previous five tours, the participants were hugging us and thanking us and so appreciative of all the information. It’s really gratifying knowing that we are providing seniors with information and options that will help them make a decision about moving to a senior living community.”

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