Every week, we turn to local experts to answer your questions about senior living, moving, downsizing, estate planning and more! Visit our Facebook page to hear from Kelly Britton with Always Best Care as she discusses how seniors can stay independent as long as possible.
You can also visit our Facebook page every Friday for the newest presentations by our local experts.
My name is Denissa Cruz- Alvarenga. I’ve been here at The Village at The Woodlands Waterway since Sept 2016, that’s almost 4 years! A little about myself, I’m a person who has several interests. I like to cook, bake, draw, read (it can be both novels and educational), kayaking, bike riding and the most important of all I like watching Netflix (mainly the comedy movies and travel, food, and animal documentaries). On the weekends my husband and I like to travel to our undeveloped property (in Cleveland, TX . . . by the middle of nowhere) in the evenings and start a fire and sit by it and watch the beautiful sunset.
So, what is my role here at The Village? Well technically I have several roles. . . I’m the “Fun Lady” who is always getting the residents “moving n’ grooving” or at least that’s what Ms. Ruth says. When it’s time for The Jolly Trolley (also known as the Social Hour Trolley) I am known as the “Wine Lady or the Booze Lady”. When I go and visit Ms. Lee, she calls me “sweetie” because I never forget to bring her an evening snack. Whenever one of the residents is feeling down, I am their “friend”. When there are simple issues with the TV, I’m known as “The Little Girl who fixes the TV”. So, as you can see I am a lady with many different roles, I guess that’s why my job title is Life Enrichment Coordinator because I’m here to make my residents happy and enrich their lives, which is something I truly enjoy!
Every week, we turn to local experts to answer your questions about senior living, moving, downsizing, estate planning and more! Visit our Facebook page to hear advice from Caitlin Timmons with Core Health Chiropractic and Natural Medicine discusses.
You can also visit our Facebook page every Friday for the newest presentations by our local experts.
Meet Pete Gallegos
I’m Pete Gallegos Director of Plant Operations for The Village at The Woodlands. I’m responsible for ensuring our building, utilities, and life safety systems are maintained and operational at all times. I’ve been with the Village for two years and am looking forward to many more. We have a great team here and everyone strives to make sure you’re comfortable in your home. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, restoring classic cars, and coaching basketball. I wish I had much more time for these interests!
Don’t let uncertain times stop your search for assisted living.
If you or someone in your family is considering an assisted living apartment or assisted living facility — you shouldn’t allow uncertainty to slow or stop your efforts to choose the best assisted living community. Why? Read more about why you should continue your search for assisted living.
Diana Kramer
Life Enrichment Coordinator
The name Diana comes from the Roman Goddess of the moon. This possibly explains why I enjoy late nights, movies about werewolves and, of course, pizza! You know, like the song lyrics say, “when the moon hits your eye…..”. The past two years I have worked at the Village as the Life Enrichment Coordinator for our Independent Living residents. Prior to COVID-19 affecting our area, we enjoyed outings that included the arts, social gatherings, fine dining experiences, new movies, fun shopping and live music venues. We are optimistic that post COVID-19, armed with a few new wellness precautions, we will be able to pick up right where we left off.
I, myself, am looking forward to planning some short getaways with friends and family. I enjoy being outdoors and Colorado is a favorite destination. When the mountains start calling, I start packing!
I am blissfully married to the greatest guy ever and we have two “children”. My son has been out of the house for several years and my daughter is a freshman in college. I also have two poodles which immediately lets you know that I can only ever have a king sized bed, my floors are tiled and I spend a lot of time spelling out words: O-U-T-S-I-D-E, C-A-R, T-R-E-A-T,… you get the idea.
It has been my pleasure these past two and a half years to have been part of such a wonderful community as The Village at The Woodlands Waterway. Our residents are truly exceptional people with big hearts and wonderful stories. I look forward to creating many new memories and hope you consider being part of our adventure!
Benedette Evans
Director of Health Services
Hello! My name is Benedette Evans, and I am the Director of Health Services at The Village at The Woodlands Waterway. I have been a Registered Nurse for over 10 years. I am originally from Kenya and my Kenyan name is Rembo, which means beautiful. I enjoy helping people and always strive to make everyone’s life beautiful. Outside of work, I enjoy cooking, spending time with my family and serving the community. I am a big advocate for Preventative Health Care, so I spend a lot of my time creating awareness about disease prevention.
My name is Mery Mckeown. I am a sales counselor at The Village at The Woodlands Waterway and have been part of this amazing team for two years! I love coming to work and being welcomed in by the warm smiles of our residents. It’s very fulfilling to be able to serve a generation that has done so much for all of us! When I am away from work I am with my family and our three rescue dogs. We have two beautiful daughters, our oldest is six years old and our latest addition is our 3-month old. We spend a lot of time at the park, cooking and baking in the kitchen and also at our church.
Hello! My name is Candice Bingham and I am The Director of Sales and Marketing at The Village at The Woodlands Waterway. I have been at this community for 4 years and absolutely love everything about it. There is no greater feeling then being able to go to work and love what you do. When I am not at work I am spending time with my daughter, who is almost 1 year old, my husband, and our 2 dogs. One of my favorite things to do is take my daughter on walks or go to the pool. When she gets a little bigger I cannot wait to take her to the ballet and different musicals.
In the next 40 years, the number of adults age 65 and older will double, and more and more seniors will consider when is the right time to make the move to a senior living community.
In Life Care Services® communities such as ours, we aim to enable seniors to thrive and live their best lives, making the transition to senior living a choice many of our residents wish they would have made sooner.
Take Julia Lewis, a resident at fellow Life Care Services community Magnolia Springs SouthPointe, as a perfect example. Julia came to her community mobility challenged, using a walker and unable to do many of things she enjoyed in her younger years. Through the Life Care Services Health & Wellness Navigation Program, which helps our residents navigate the complicated care continuum, Julia received exercise training and therapy for over a year, dropped her walker and now, can’t help but let loose and dance. A viral video of Julia dancing the jitterbug has been featured nationally on Fox and Friends, CBS This Morning and Good Morning America and has been shared by thousands – including Oprah – on social media.
Our desire is to help all of our residents be able to “get down” and dance again, join a book club, go to the opera, or garden – whatever their passion may be. Life Care Services communities seek to fulfill resident passions through our programming and partnerships.
You can get a glimpse into how residents at Life Care Services communities such as ours are loving their choice to move, by hearing from them yourself in this news clip featured on We Are Iowa.