Choosing a senior living community can involve a lot of questions.
What type of living option is right? What happens if care needs change? How does the move actually work? And how do you know when the time is right?
At Cedar Community, the sales and admissions team helps prospective residents and families understand their options, work through those questions, and navigate each stage of the transition.
Their roles may be different, but they share one goal: helping people feel informed, comfortable, and confident about what comes next.
Helping People Make a Big Decision
Moving to senior living is rarely just a housing decision.
It can involve finances, healthcare needs, lifestyle priorities, downsizing, family conversations, and planning for the future.
Cedar Community’s team works with prospective residents and their families across independent living, independent living plus, assisted living, memory care, rehabilitation, and skilled nursing.
The goal is not simply to show someone an apartment or home. It is to help them understand what Cedar Community offers and which option best fits their needs.
Abby Jonasson: Helping Families Navigate the Decision
Abby Jonasson, director of sales, has spent more than a decade helping people transition to senior living.
Before joining Cedar Community, she worked across independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing in both sales and community outreach roles.
What Abby enjoys most is getting to know prospective residents and their families.
She values the opportunity to hear their stories, learn what matters to them, and help them navigate a decision that can feel significant.
For Abby, one of the most rewarding moments comes after the move.
She says seeing the happiness on new residents’ faces as they settle into their homes and begin meeting their neighbors is one of the greatest gifts of her role.
Julie Schickert: Welcoming People Into the Cedar Community Family
Julie Schickert joined Cedar Community’s sales team after more than two years working as a customer relations associate.
Before Cedar, she spent 15 years in retail, progressing from sales associate and visual merchandiser into management.
Her experience at Cedar Community has given her a close connection with the residents she sees every day.
Julie says residents have come to feel like family, and she enjoys having the opportunity to welcome even more people into the Cedar Community community.
Outside of work, Julie and her husband coach high school girls volleyball for Washington County Homeschool Athletics. She also enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, puzzles, and spending time with family.
Kay Chevalier: Helping Make the Move Feel Like Home
For prospective residents, choosing Cedar Community is only the beginning.
Once the decision is made, Move-In Coordinator Kay Chevalier helps people through the next stage of the process.
Kay originally joined Cedar Community in financial services, where she worked for seven years before transitioning into her role at the Cedar Ridge Campus.
Before Cedar, she taught at Ben Franklin Elementary School in Menomonee Falls and later worked alongside her husband as a bookkeeper for their family business.
Today, Kay enjoys the variety her role provides and the opportunity to work with residents as they settle into their new homes.
For her, one of the best parts of the job is seeing someone move from planning and preparation to actually feeling at home at Cedar Community.
Michelle Walsh: A Resource Through Changing Care Needs
Michelle Walsh brings both clinical and senior living experience to her role as sales coordinator.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and an associate degree in alcohol and other drug abuse counseling. She has worked in senior housing for 27 years, including 16 years at Cedar Community.
Michelle is also a certified CBRF administrator and memory care specialist.
Her role focuses on helping residents and families understand the next steps in their care journey.
That might mean exploring independent living plus, assisted living, or memory care and helping families understand what support is available as needs change.
Michelle especially appreciates being able to serve as a resource during times of transition and introduce families to the care, programs, amenities, and team members available throughout Cedar Community.
Heather Gundrum: Helping Patients Feel Comfortable Before Rehabilitation
For people coming to Cedar Community for rehabilitation or skilled nursing care, the transition may happen much more quickly.
Heather Gundrum, RN, admissions coordinator, helps patients and families understand what to expect before admission.
Heather began her Cedar Community career in 2008 as a certified nursing assistant.
Over the years, she progressed through several nursing roles, including licensed practical nurse, RN charge nurse, and RN supervisor, before moving into admissions in 2016.
What she enjoys most is talking with patients and families before they arrive and helping them feel more comfortable about the care they will receive.
Her career path also reflects the opportunities Cedar Community team members can have to grow into new roles while continuing to serve residents and families.
Different Needs, One Place to Start
The reasons someone contacts Cedar Community can vary widely.
One person may be thinking about an independent living move several years from now.
Another family may be looking for memory care for a parent.
Someone else may need rehabilitation after a surgery or hospital stay.
That is why having people who understand the different levels of living and care can be so valuable.
Cedar Community’s team can help families:
- Understand available living and care options
- Compare the differences between levels of support
- Talk through future care needs
- Explore residences and amenities
- Understand the move-in process
- Prepare for a transition
- Connect with the appropriate Cedar Community resources
Making the Next Step Feel More Manageable
There is no single path into Cedar Community.
Some residents plan years in advance. Others begin exploring after a life change. And some families need answers quickly when healthcare needs shift.
Across those different situations, Cedar Community’s sales and admissions team helps people better understand their options and what the next step could look like.
Sometimes, making a big decision becomes a little easier when you know who is there to help you through it.Originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Live More magazine.
