Joannne & John’s Story

Joanne has Alzheimer’s disease.

In April 2011, her husband, Daniel, brought her to Helia Healthcare of Greenville to recover from a broken hip that she had sustained in a fall. Although Joanne recovered from her injury, Daniel was no longer able to care for his wife at home.

And when Daniel died that October, John — the couple’s son — had some important decisions to make regarding his mother’s care.

Daniel had been a podiatrist, and he had visited many of the skilled nursing facilities in the area over the course of his long medical career.

“My mom had started to come to think of the people working [at Helia] as family.”

“He had always liked Helia. He felt that Helia was the best place for my mom,” says John, who was living in Georgia when his father died.

John considered moving his mother down south. But after visiting Helia, he changed his mind.

“I spent a couple of weeks and got to know the people at Helia. I was really impressed with how the nurses and CNAs — as well as the [administrative] staff — interacted with the patients.”

None of the long-term care facilities he considered in Georgia were “as loving and friendly,” John says.

“And my mom had started to come to think of the people working [at Helia] as family.”

Instead, John — who was running a software company at the time — moved his family to Greenville to be near Joanne.

John, who is now retired, visits his mother every day, and is consistently impressed with the quality of care she receives, he says. John’s wife and daughter also stop in frequently.

“All of the staff go out of their way to welcome us,” he says. “And it’s not just [our family].

“That’s the way they treat everybody.”