There’s no place like Beehive Homes
Coeur d’Alene Press, The (ID)
Linda Ball; Special sections editor
Published: September 10, 2008
COEUR d’ALENE — You know the old saying, “there’s no place like home.” One of the owners of Beehive Homes, Gary Ghramm considers the assisted living facility more of a real home than a facility. “This place belongs to the residents and we’re here to serve them,” Ghramm said. “This is their home, and we’re in it.”
There’s certainly nothing dreary or boring in this 64-bed home. Each of the four buildings at the Coeur d’Alene home, (Beehive also has a Pinehurst facility), opens into a magnificent garden complete with a large water feature, herb and vegetable gardens, gorgeous flowers, a built-in barbecue, a palm tree and even a matched pair of talking parrots.
“We grow our own vegetables, and we offer the garden to our residents,” Ghramm said.
Ghramm’s partner, Teri Marshall, said they do every-thing for their residents, including giving hugs. She said Beehive has several independent residents who are still driving and still healthy, but they know they won’t be eventually.
“While they’re sharp in their mind and body they can make those decisions,” she said. “Once they move in, it’s their home. They come home.”
Ghramm and Marshall said Beehive is also home for the resident’s families when times are tough. Families can come and stay as long as they want. Just like when relatives come to visit at your home, Beehive rolls out the cots or whatever it takes to accommodate their needs. Ghramm said end of life is particularly difficult.
“We’ve made it so families are comfortable,” he said. “They feel like they’re at home. The hardest thing is having a death. It’s like losing a member of the family.” Marshall said there are always goodies in the refrigerator for families to munch on. On a daily basis the residents dine family style in one of the four beautiful dining rooms at Beehive. With beautiful weather, however, the staff has barbecues several afternoons a week on the huge outdoor barbecue.
Marketing director Chris Copstead said the staff are like family, too.
“If Gary goes into one of the houses and doesn’t talk to everyone, they’re upset,” he said. “I see Teri so often with her arms around a resident.”
Ghramm said since Beehive is small and locally owned, when you go to Beehive, you talk to an owner every day. He said people really appreciate the fact that when you call, you get a real person.
In addition to the garden, a new activity center will be very welcome when winter rolls around again. Beehive has a big screen that rolls down for movies, music, arts and crafts and exercise programs.
“They know they need to exercise for mobility,” Ghramm said. “Every human needs exercise to function.”
Ghramm and Marshall built their two homes from the ground up. From the tile roofs, to the rustic rock work in the kitchens, the garden — everything — was their brainchild, all designed to make it feel like home.
“The whole thing was built with a lot of love,” said David Marshall, Teri’s husband, a builder and also partner in Beehive Homes.
