NEW LE ROY RETIREMENT FACILITY ADMINISTRATOR LOOKS TO FOSTER A SENSE OF TOGETHERNESS

By Savannah Howe

A new administrator has joined the ranks at the Wildwood Grove Retirement and Assisted Living Facility in Le Roy, and she is eager to foster a warm and inviting environment for her colleagues, residents and fellow community members.

Diane Whalen is native to Rochester but has called Le Roy home for the last eight years. Upon first moving to the area, she worked for the Le Roy-Ostrander Public School District first in school-aged childcare, then in early childhood and family education. Prior to her move, she worked in the 4-H department for University of Minnesota Extension.

In a lucky break, Whalen and the assisted living facility were both looking for a change. Whalen liked working with youth, but was ready for a full-time opportunity. At the same time, Wildwood needed an administrator that was local to Le Roy and dedicated to its community.

“I know a lot of the residents from when I worked in school-aged childcare,” Whalen

“They give 100% said. “I would bring the kids down here to do decorations and other activities with the residents. I just have been here long enough that I’ve here all of the time. gotten to know some of the older gals in town, and it’s so nice that they

I can’t believe know me. I think that familiarity is really important.” Whalen’s familiarity doesn’t stop with knowing the residents. Her the number of mother had been in assisted living for eight years and recently moved into a nursing home, so Whalen can relate with families on the other volunteers that do side of the coin. things here.” “I’ve seen the side of the family perspective,” she explained. “I think that helps me in relating to people who are here … and seeing the resiDiane Whalen dents and getting to know who they are. I find that to be so important, I think from experience with my mom.” Whalen has been in the assisted living field before. She worked at the Mower County Senior Center and a local elementary school in the 80s; while the administrator jokes that she only works with the young or the old and no in-between, she says that the Le Roy community has been amazing no matter the age.

Pictured (left to right): Jill Megraw, Vilma Linderman, Anne Prigge, Jan Dolhman, Katie Pavlovec, Diane Whalen, Dawn Brossard, Tammy Loecher, Kari Mensink, R.N., Director of Clinical Services and Ashley Kulish. Wildwood currently has 50 employees. Photos by Axel Gumbel, DCI

Diane Whalen, the new administrator for Wildwood Grove Retirement and Assisted Living Facility in Le Roy has made it her goal to make the facility a warm and inviting place to live.

“They give 100% here all of the time,” Whalen said. “I can’t believe the number of volunteers that do things here. … If there’s anybody that ever is having poor health or some kind of financial trouble, everybody groups together and really supports them, and I think that’s also how it is at Wildwood Grove. I think it’s had some hard times where financially it’s been a challenge but everybody wants to see this stay in place, and so they all work together to make it a good place, because it really is an asset to our community.”

When she’s not working, Whalen enjoys hanging out with her husband and grandkids, and baking (much to the delight of the former). The new administrator will be taking classes to become a licensed assisted living director. She is looking forward to showing her new community how dedicated she is to bringing stability and security to Wildwood Grove because “I plan on being here until they tell me to leave,” Whalen said.

“Maybe I’ll move into an apartment here or something,” she laughed. “But, no, I don’t plan on going anywhere. I want everybody here to be happy and enjoy working here. We’ve had a lot of turnover, and in this nature of job, it’s hard work. The aides that work here, the nurses, the housekeeping, all that they’ve been through with COVID, you would not believe how many hours some of these people are working. They’re working so hard because they care about the residents, so I’m hoping I can support them in the way that they deserve to be supported.”

“The aides that work here, the nurses, the housekeeping, all that they’ve been through with COVID, you would not believe how many hours some of these people are working. They’re working so hard because they care about the residents, so I’m hoping to I can support them in the way that they deserve to be supported.”

Diane Whalen