A Genius's Choice for Living and Dying Well
Colonial Oaks Heath & Rehabilitation Center
Written by Jerry Pattengale ‘79
Some people ooze respect. They can move quietly through a room yet command the loudest silent applause. Dr. Marvin Hinds was such a person, though during my last visit he was uncharacteristically energetic.
Dr. Marvin Hinds
For decades he amazed me with his winsome smile, woodworking hobby, and interest in others—no matter how mundane the topic. Yet he was one of the heralded scientists who developed the heart defibrillator.
Christ was central to his life, including his decision to give most of his career to teaching at Indiana Wesleyan University. Our last visit was in the dining hall at Colonial Oaks, the retirement and extended care community owned by IWU and operated by TLC Management, Inc. Like myself, he had driven by that attractive property near campus for decades. Its name fits as well as any, on the sleepy tree-lined Harmon Street often dotted with collegiate joggers.
That last visit was especially memorable. I caught him as he was finishing his “favorite dish.” He was sitting with Dr. Byron Tippey, another veteran IWU professor whose southern genteel drawl always proved endearing.
They seemed giddy. Literally happy in a youthful way—and both were still sharp as tacks. Dr. Hinds then showed me his latest woodwork—an ink pen shaped like a rifle. Himself a veteran, it was a familiar tool—but it was a gift for another.
My visit was cut short because the two of them didn’t want to miss a social function down the hall. I left tickled that two of my senior friends were having fun, as if in high school again. Marvin, a genius who had lived well, was now living out another choice—how to enjoy his sunset years, and to die well.
I was reminded of standing in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library reading the quote from our 40th President’s letter to the American people (in his own handwriting), “I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life.” That letter was written on November 5, 1994. He would live nearly a decade longer.
Much like Dr. Hinds, a brilliant man with many admirers would make choices about his last days. And for Dr. Hinds, it was to entrust his care and that of his wife, Hazel, to the institution which he loved and served.
An institution is a systematic response to a recurring need, and IWU had figured out long ago how to respond to certain needs. Little did Dr. Hinds know back in 1971 when he came to IWU to help start the nursing program (with Della Blackburn), that fifty years later graduates from that same program would help usher him into the Kingdom—only a half mile from campus.
There was a joy in his step that last visit. I left thinking, “My genius professor and friend seems to have chosen well.” He had commented on how wonderful it was to slip over “to the other side” and visit Hazel. They were at different places in their health journeys and needed different levels of care (though ultimately would pass within five months of each other in 2018).
FAMILY and FACILITIES were indeed factors in this choice. So were friends—and those with likeminded views of our Savior.
FINANCES puts parameters around our options for retirement and late-life care. And, so does our attention to stewardship. Dr. Hinds was well aware that IWU benefits annually from leasing Colonial Oaks to TLC. And, it has benefited through various gifts from the TLC owners, including the amazing Ott Hall of Science and Nursing.
A core component of selecting Colonial Oaks was the FAITH factor—both of its owner and the TLC healthcare corporation that manages it. The TLC founders and managers are not only Christians and IWU alumni, but fellow members of his same church.
And that’s the last factor I deduced, the FAMILIAR. Regardless of what state, or the great amenities, the Christian ambiance resonated with his soul.
In President Reagan’s case, he had actually been planning his departure for more than 20 years. The decision to put his presidential library in Simi Valley (atop a mountain) was in 1987, after a tumultuous and failed effort at Stanford to host it had dragged out since 1982.
Like Dr. Hinds (and many of us), he began the selection process through meaningful moments over decades, not abruptly. President Reagan was able to attend the library’s opening just a few years before his passing. And Dr. Hinds the same with Ott Hall’s opening.
If you stand and read Reagan’s sunset quote on a poster as a first-time visitor to the Simi Valley facility, you’ll be little prepared for what’s just around the corner—Air Force One. In a glass room somewhat cantilevered amongst the mountains is the pavilion with a breathtaking view. And that’s what Colonial Oaks and other well-run Christian senior facilities should be about, preparing us for an awesome view just around the corner.
Music Therapy Students Visit Colonial Oaks Residents During COVID-19
IWU STUDENTS AT COLONIAL OAKS
In addition to entertainment sought out by Colonial Oaks from local musicians, entertainers and therapy dogs, IWU students volunteer with the activities department to help residents do crafts, read to them, or simply sit and have conversations. The IWU Music Therapy program comes regularly to provide music therapy, an especially meaningful gift to residents who spent their pre-Colonial Oaks years heavily involved in music.
Colonial Oaks Health & Rehabilitation Center
150 - Typically you will find 150 residents living in the Colonial Oak’s Health and Rehabilitation and Retirement (Assisted and Independent Living) centers
79- Average age of health and rehabilitation residents
85 - Average age of retirement center residents
32 days - Average stay for short-term rehab residents
13 months - Average stay for long-term rehab residents
4.5 years - Average stay for assisted living residents
51 - Male residents – 31 in health and rehab, 20 in assisted living
79 - Female residents – 51 in health and rehab, 28 in assisted living
10 Couples – 2 in health and rehab; 8 in assisted living
30 Years meals have been provided by Carol Scott, the Director of Dining and Nutrition—three meals per day to health & rehab residents, and two times per day to assisted living residents life.
