Top-Notch Retirement: The Blake at Oxford

Finishing touches are being added on to the exterior and interior of the Blake in anticipation of its opening on Wednesday, Nov. 18. On Wednesday, the first three residents will move into The Blake, after which the Mississippi Department of Health will evaluate the facility and issue a license of operation.

The Blake at Oxford, the latest addition to Oxford’s bustling retirement community, is set to open Wednesday, Nov. 18.

The residential space boasts 100 apartments of combined memory care and assisted living on five acres of land and claims amenities that are unmatched in the local area.

“If you want to live your life to the fullest, you need to come experience The Blake,” said executive director Jim McArthur. “It is a different level of service that we provide. We consider ourselves the Ritz Carlton of assisted living.”

The Blake at Oxford is now one of six retirement homes operated by the Blake Management Group that specializes in offering assisted living and memory care services. McArthur said that Oxford was chosen because it’s well known for retirement, has phenomenal opportunities and many options to choose from for entertainment. While many of the residents are from the surrounding region, some are from out of state. McArthur believes that many people retire here because they are drawn back to where they went to school or because they have family members that would love to have them in a certain community.

Exectuive Director of The Blake at Oxford Jim McArthur works from his temporary office in the Oxford Conference Center. The Oxford Conference Center has hosted orientation for new employees at The Blake and has served as a makeshift office until construction is finished inside of The Blake.

The new retirement home isn’t considered to be a full-scale nursing home, but rather a place where retirees will live and come to know as home. Sixty-six of the property’s apartments will be set aside for assisted living, the remaining 34 will be for memory care residents who have any form of dementia.

Oxford already claims several homes and communities for retired adults and has been featured in more than 75 different publications, websites and news commentaries as one of the top retirement destinations in the country. While The Blake is merely joining the ranks of a well-established retirement town, management and staff wholeheartedly claim that this home is different.

Chief operations officer of the Blake Management Group, Glenn Barclay, says that in just about every area of service to their residents his organization excels. One thing that sets the Blake apart, he says, is the unmatched dining experience.

“I know a lot of buildings say they serve it restaurant style, but we truly serve it like sitting down in a restaurant by giving choices, servers, flowers at the sitting area,” Barclay said.

Barclay said that other areas The Blake excels at is in its activities, 24/7 nursing, fine amenities, providing themes that run through the year and, especially, its staff.

There is a particular focus by The Blake to engage the community. This includes nearly every aspect of services provided by the company. The Blake desires to have residents involved in volunteering in the community and in participating in events like the annual Double Decker Festival. There is a hope that residents will become regulars to events at the Gertrude Ford Center for the Performing Arts, the museum on campus and other local attractions.

McArthur says they hope to have the community active in operations at The Blake as well.

The Blake boasts several outdoor sitting areas for residents and backs up to a large wooded area with an abundance of wildlife. Executive director Jim McArthur says that he hopes the residence home will begin a community garden in the coming year.

“We’d love to be involved in the community,” McArthur said. “So we’ll work with Woodson Ridge Farms to bring fresh produce in here, it’ll be a healthy relationship with the community.”

For the regional director of Blake Management Group, Vicky Armstrong, the most unique thing about the Blake is the quality of life that is desired for the residents.

“We want them to come live life with us, not live life out,” Armstrong said. “We really want them to live in a place that they’re proud to call home, like they’re walking into a really nice hotel and being taken care of, but that’s the shell. What really matters is the way they feel about their life, they’re still a part of society and they still want to give back. We want to give them opportunities to do that.”

By the time the doors open, there will be 30 staff working on site. After more residents move in, The Blake plans to employ anywhere from 75 to 100 personnel as kitchen staff, house keeping, personal care assistants and nurses.

The past week has been a week of orientation for frontline staff, hosted in the Oxford Conference Center. Licensed practical nurse Rochelle Cooley said that working for The Blake seems to be completely different than other jobs she’s had in her five years of nursing.

“The atmosphere is different, the people are different, we’re able to express joy, and empathy, and Christ,” Cooley said. “There are some places as a nurse you walk into and you’re just like, ‘Oh, this is wrong.’ So far, this is the place you want to be. You aspire to be here, not just to stay here, but to work here. It’s an aspiration.”

Director of Business for The Blake at Oxford Donna Oliphant discusses paperwork needs with new employees. Employees begun orientation Monday, Nov. 9.

Only three individuals will move into The Blake on Wednesday, the first day of full operations. After that, The Blake is to be evaluated by the Division of Health Facilities Licensure and Certification to receive their operating license. Then the remaining residents can move into the facility.

“I cannot wait to open the doors and show everybody what a phenomenal piece of property it is,” McArthur said. “Opening the doors is always a little bit nervous, but it’s also an exciting time too. Our residents, they’re going to feel they are home. They’re going to have an opportunity to know new friends and family. We want to be the best Blake that there is.”

The new building is located off of Highway 7 in the new Oxford Commons area. More information about The Blake at Oxford can be found online at blakeliving.com.

Tanner Marquis is a senior print journalism major at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. He can be reached at tannerleemarquis@gmail.com.

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