The wellness team at The Saybrook at Haddam includes nearly 30 professional caregivers who work daily with residents to develop and manage very personalized care plans.  The team is the backbone of the most basic philosophy at the community:  to create and maintain a high quality of life for each resident. 

Today, the team is under the leadership of Diane Carigliano, RN, who joined The Saybrook at Haddam in October 2016.  Diane was immediately drawn to the beauty of the community – as well as the warmth of everyone who works or lives there.  She was impressed with The Saybrook at Haddam’s dedication to creating a culture of kindness and welcomed opportunity to become a part of that culture.

“Right away, I knew this was a special community that focused on caring,” Diane said.  “It might sound a little cliché, but you really feel a difference when you are at The Saybrook at Haddam.”

One of Diane’s first initiatives was to centralize the entire nursing team so that each person could assist or offer a more familiar level of care to any resident when needed. Prior to this move, the community had specialized nursing teams for memory care, assisted living and independent living residents.  By blending all nursing staff, residents are now getting to know everyone on the care team better, and the team is more accustomed with the specific needs of each resident.

“The goal with this move is to enhance the terrific relationships we already have with residents so that they are always met with a familiar face when they need care services,” Diane said.  “This also helps the care team work closer with other members of the staff from recreation to dining to housekeeping. We believe this approach is paying off and helping bring our tight-knit community even closer together.”

Diane understands the importance of building relationships between care givers and receivers.  She has spent her entire career working in the healthcare field, with seniors as well as with children and adolescents.  She was a child psychiatric nurse at both Elmcrest and the Institute of Living in Hartford, was an outpatient individual therapist for InterCommunity Health Care in East Hartford, and worked at the Cromwell Children’s Home before moving into senior care.

“I had watched my parents age and deal with the health and wellness issues that come with aging and realized it was a challenging and interesting segment of healthcare that I had not yet considered,” Diane said, reflecting on her choice to refocus her career.  “After working at The Hearth retirement community in Branford and Atria assisted living in Rocky Hill, I knew senior care was the career for me.”

Another step Diane is taking for The Saybrook at Haddam is a new partnership with an APRN group from West Haven.  Nurses from this group now come to the community twice a week to see residents conveniently in their own apartments.  Working closely with the residents’ doctors, these nurses are able to write medication orders and treat residents – saving them a trip to the doctor’s office!

Additionally, Diane is overseeing an effort to coordinate with skilled nursing agencies for professional development and educational programs for the care team.  This will keep the wellness efforts current, fresh and creative, for the benefit of residents and caregivers alike.  Diane plans to include educational events for residents and families as well to help them better understand the aging process and changing care needs through the senior years.  Please check with Melissa at the front desk to see when these programs are scheduled.

We welcome Diane to The Saybrook at Haddam and look forward to continued excellence from the care giving team!

For a private tour of The Saybrook at Haddam or its Safe Harbor Memory Care neighborhood, please click here to contact David Downey or call 860-345-3779.