Linden Ponds residents find it easy to stay engaged and fit

After working, raising children, and taking care of a house for decades, most people look forward to their retirement as a time to focus on hobbies and other activities they truly enjoy. That's one of the many reasons people enjoy spending their retirement at Linden Ponds, an Erickson Senior Living managed senior living community in Hingham, Massachusetts.  

Linden Ponds offers dozens of amenities, clubs, and activities under one roof, making it easy for residents to live life to the fullest. Executive Director Jim Centola says Linden Ponds residents enjoy many on-site amenities, including the garden patches, walking trail, courts for playing bocce ball and horseshoes, a CVS, dental office, and salons. Residents can also take advantage of shuttles to local destinations. Staying in good physical shape is a top priority for many Linden Ponds residents, and they can get their workouts in without leaving campus.

“Our residents are enjoying our fitness and aquatics center for individual exercise as well as classes and personal training,” Centola says. “We are currently offering more classes and more variety of classes than ever before, including drums alive and Zumba gold.”

Enjoying Linden Ponds' offerings

Exercise is a top priority for resident Janet Shipman, so she is pleased that Linden Ponds' fitness center has reopened. She's always walked 5 miles and day and likes to complete the first 2 miles outdoors and then finish the last 3 miles on the treadmill at the fitness center. She also lifts weights and uses exercise machines, and she hopes to start taking yoga classes this winter. She says the fitness center is very clean and has started staying open later in the evening to enable residents to maintain physical distance while working out. 

“The fitness staff are terrific,” Janet says. Janet serves on the resident life committee and says that group has resumed meeting in person, with physical distancing measures in place. Linden Ponds' on-site restaurants have expanded hours and a new reservation system to ensure that the dining rooms never become too crowded. “It's terrific,” Janet says of the reservation system. 

Janet and her husband, Jay Cushman, moved to Linden Ponds about two years ago. They previously lived in a three-story townhouse in Boston and wanted to move to a retirement community where they could be active and independent. 

“We knew we would eventually have to make this move and we decided to do it when we could,” Janet says. “I am glad we did it because it was big, but the people here are wonderful and the staff members are outrageously great .”

Janet and Jay live in a fifth-floor apartment home at Linden Ponds. Their spacious home is nearly 2,000 square feet and has a guest room (currently used as an office) and two-and-a-half bathrooms. They have a second home in Maine, where they spent part of 2020. When Jay needed hip surgery at Mass General, they decided to come back to Linden Ponds.

“It's very convenient,” Janet says. “We are lucky we lived here with his hip because he can do outpatient physical therapy right here.”

Staying active and fulfilled

Linden Ponds' amenities are also of great interest to people who have not yet moved to the community. Sales Manager Susan Sheehan says interest in moving to Linden Ponds remains very high. 

“Prospective residents are choosing to move here because we have access to resources that they don't have in their home now,” she says. “I often hear from our residents that they don't feel alone as they are part of a community.”

Sheehan and the rest of the sales team are on hand to introduce new community members to everything they can enjoy when they move to Linden Ponds. 

“Our residents are staying engaged and active. There is a new normal as folks have found alternative ways to continue the clubs and activities, book club meetings and even bridge games,” Sheehan says. “The pool and fitness center help with overall mental health and social connections. The on-site CVS pharmacy covers prescriptions and some groceries; it makes life easier because it's one less reason to go off campus.”

The sales team has implemented new ways to help prospective residents become acquainted with Linden Ponds. Sales counselors are available to meet with people via Zoom and FaceTime and can also share video tours of the campus and various apartment home floor plans via email. “We will often connect residents to our prospects to help them connect and talk about how we are currently staying social and connected and using the community offerings,” Sheehan says.

The first step to enjoying maintenance-free retirement living at Linden Ponds is to request a brochure.