Chrissy Grude is back on the Symphony team
By Patricia Nugent
This month, Symphony of Olmsted Falls is thrilled to welcome back Executive Director Chrissy Grude.
With 15 years of experience in senior living, 11 of which have been spent as an executive director, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role. Since she has served on various professional boards within the senior care arena, Chrissy is well-known for always bringing new ideas to the table.
She says she’s known since working at a nursing home in high school that she wanted a career working with seniors. And acting as an advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness has been a pursuit of hers as well.
“What I like most about this job is catering to a resident population that’s exclusively memory care,” she says. “Working with a smaller number of residents allows us to dedicate our efforts toward personalizing each person’s experience.”
During Covid-19, Chrissy and the staff have heroically engaged in one-on-one efforts to save residents from feeling isolated. They pay visits to them in their studio apartments and help them facilitate FaceTime and Zoom visits with their families.
They’ve also introduced a new program called Life Loop to allow families to receive photo updates on their loved ones to stay connected with what they are doing throughout the week. “It’s a nice touchpoint to start conversations during virtual visits,” she says.
Overseeing day-to-day operations at the facility, Chrissy’s philosophy is in line with Symphony’s: helping each resident through their progression with dementia, while nurturing and respecting their individuality.
Treating residents like family is standard operating procedure for Chrissy and her approachable staff. On her own home front, she enjoys working out and spending time with her two little girls and is also “bonus mom” to two boys and another girl.
Symphony at Olmsted Falls is located at 25880 Elm Street in Olmsted Falls. The facility includes 44 studio units. Physical therapy, beauticians, rehab services, therapy dogs, cooking demonstrations and hospice services are also available. When the pandemic improves, respite care and adult day care programs will be available again. For more information or to schedule a virtual visit, call 440-230-3591 or visit SymphonyatOlmstedFalls.com.