High Point Center for Care Embraces Talented New Friends

JoEllen Moldoff rustled her papers as she looked out at a captivated audience. Her words were slow and deliberate. Several members of the audience nodded their heads in agreement as she read from the paper in front of her.

“I’ve always loved poetry,’’ said Moldoff after the presentation. “Over the years, I’ve facilitated poetry groups. It’s fun for me. I love seeing people come alive when they understand what poetry is all about.’’

Moldoff is among a growing number of residents from Broadview at Purchase College, an independent senior living community in Purchase NY, who are volunteering at the neighboring High Point Center for Care, Broadview’s new assisted living community. Opened in March, the center offers memory care and assisted living services in a safe, comfortable environment. It’s for older adults who need additional support, but still want to enjoy social connections and continued personal growth.

Joan Juergens, a Life Enrichment Specialist at High Point, is the matchmaker who has been bringing together Broadview and High Point residents. “There is a lot of talent at Broadview. We have musicians, literary experts. I even have a biology teacher who wants to do science programs. Many Broadview residents want to be an active part of this community. It’s very exciting,” she said.

Juergens said the joy of sharing knowledge is in keeping with Broadview’s theme of intergenerational and lifelong learning.

Broadview opened in December of 2023 with the lofty goal of bringing together older adults and college students in an intergenerational experiment. Now, residents like Moldoff are taking this a step further by sharing their talents with the residents of High Point.

Like everything else at Broadview, said Juergens, the genesis of the bond between independent and assisted living residents happened organically and is taking on a life of its own. Juergens, who is CPR trained, said she started meeting residents at Broadview while filling in as a lifeguard at the swimming pool after she was hired and waiting for High Point to open.

“I started getting to know the residents, and before you know it, they were all volunteering to come over and share their expertise,’’ she said.

Dr. Hyman Miller, a retired heart surgeon from nearby Rye, who attended Moldoff’s poetry reading, said that High Point was just the kind of place he was looking for when he moved out of his home after a series of medical issues that made it clear he needed additional support.

“I’ve been living here a little over a month now, and it’s like heaven,’’ he said. “We have so many interesting people here, people with different personalities and interests,” he said.

Miller said he’d never written poetry before, but after listening to Moldoff’s presentation, he might give it a try. “I feel like it’s never too late to try something new. Why not?’’