Brewster Village, located at 3300 W. Brewster St. in Appleton, Wisconsin, is a county-operated, not-for-profit senior care facility that serves over 200 residents in smaller groups called households, each with 13 or 14 people to help residents and staff build closer relationships. Residents get private rooms and bathrooms, and they can bring items from home to make the spaces more familiar, with kitchens, porches, dining rooms, and backyards included for everyone's comfort. The staff includes people focused on different needs like Krissy Reierson for MDS coordination, Jennifer Fritsch for social services, Pamela Schmidt who plans life enrichment activities, Melissa Sommer who handles food and nutrition, Mark Cochrane who manages recruitment, Jeremy Fredericks in finance, and a program services administrator named Timothy Neuman. Taya Walk is the administrator with Robin Wisneski as the office specialist contact, and the staff are trained in specific care protocols to help all kinds of needs.
Brewster Village offers skilled nursing care, short-term rehabilitation, dementia care, and services for people with developmental disabilities or those needing intensive nursing, including physical, occupational, and speech therapies through MJ Care. The facility works with UW Health - Fox Valley Family Practice for medical needs, routine or emergency, and also accepts Medical Assistance, private pay, long-term care insurance, and residents covered by Medicare and Medicaid, but can't accept those who need ventilator use, continuous blood transfusions, or negative pressure rooms.
The building is licensed by Wisconsin and includes amenities like a chapel, salon, housekeeping, and maintenance. They provide meals and nutrition services, giving residents plenty of nutritional options. Special events and spiritual services are scheduled throughout the week, including things like Bible Study, Rosary, Seven Servants Bingo, and community outreach. Life enrichment staff organize programs for art, exercise, book clubs, socials, hobbies like baking and cooking, visits to local stores and museums, happy hours, and entertainment, with a focus on keeping everyone engaged and helping people live with dignity, respect, self-determination, and choice. The Cycling Without Age program lets residents take outdoor rides on special bikes, with help from volunteer pilots, and family or friends can take part in the trips; the facility encourages donations and volunteers to help run programs like these. Brewster Village also participates in the Wisconsin Music and Memory Program by making personalized music playlists to help residents with dementia, using iPods.
The admission process includes a review of each resident's medical, financial, and social needs, with seven-day-a-week acceptance, and there's a bedhold policy where rooms are held for short hospital stays or therapeutic leaves. The philosophy at Brewster Village is to create tailored "person-directed" residential experiences based on each resident's social and medical circumstances, always aiming for independence and purposeful living, while the staff-across life enrichment, social services, medical, nursing, and dining-work together to meet both routine and unique needs. Volunteering possibilities are broad, matching volunteer interests with jobs available on flexible schedules, and there are plenty of ways for the community to connect, with special events and an ongoing event calendar. Overall, Brewster Village provides a combination of privacy, care, and activity in a community setting, offering support for both long-term and temporary needs, while adding to resident comfort with spaces for worship, beauty, communal meals, and outside activities.
