Transcription
We had a goal when we arrived. Him, he said, "We are coming to the United States to make money." This is our mission. You can come from very poor families. Both of us really wanted to be rich, and I had no idea how to become rich. He had the idea, so I went with him. I went with this idea.
The growing demand for service, distraction, and entertainment has established a strong industry. An industry that accompanies people throughout their entire life. Just because they've moved, they've moved hiring community, that doesn't mean that that part of their life has to stop. In fact, it must keep going.
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The rising population of retirees has become especially interesting to this industry. People are living longer and often remain healthy enough to reward themselves for their work-life endeavors. They say, "Ritz Carlton for old people."
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One may choose from different lifestyles for retirement. This counts particularly for the Western Baby Boomers, who grew up in a time and place that held the perfect conditions for careers, economic safety, and solid preparation for retirement. We took a decision that we are going to actually cater their services to the highest, highest socio-economic part of the society for the simple reason nobody else does it. Wow, okay.
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It's a fact that I know well. I'll figure it out. Well, I was actually looking for a senior living facility, and I went to the model apartment. The building was not open, although the most of it was constructed, and they gave me the virtual tour. And after less than an hour, I said to the marketing person, "I'm ready. This uh vertical living sounds like it's for me." Yeah, wait. Alex, let me tell you a few things. Okay. All right. The best serve is the one who listens to the good instruction. We need uh two cans, if there's big ones, or four for the small of Diet Ginger Ale. Two for me and two for Walden. And I need a wine glass with ice. I was already on the way. Good. And she needs some wine glass with ice. And I want a straw. The lady over there needs a lemonade and a regular tall glass with no ice, just a straw. And, and then we need a thing of breadsticks, a tall thing of breadsticks, and uh two more buttons, two more plates. About it. All right. All right, that's a good start. I'll be right back.
Ironman Community called The Palace, situated in Miami. The Palace provides seniors with everything they need without leaving the building. Residents have access to social activities, exercises, and if required, assisted living. The minimum age to join the community is 55.
I never thought I'd end up in a place like this. When I first moved in here, I would wake up and I would say, "What in the world is going on? Where am I? And why am I here? And am I going to be here for the rest of my life?" Oh, I know I'm gonna miss this next Friday. Oh, you don't have a chance. Out with a glass of champagne. And this is lovely. When, whenever you come to my apartment, and yours, you're the same way. I have champagne. You always drink like, like I do. I have Prosecco. The Italian. Oh, I love that too. And I think it's so good. It is.
Of the community, every day at four o'clock, the happy hour starts, and the plaza fills up with tunes and chatter. Live music and an open bar provide the right conditions to socialize. This, the entertainment program is chock full of a variety of activities, lavish and rigorous. It is crucial to the concept of the palace and is one of the main reasons why people move here.
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Pamela Parker is the social activities director for the community and plans all the entertainment and events. She has been awarded best social director in the U.S. several times. Hey, are you coming? Okay, listen. Here is your, um, here is your task, should you take it. Okay, your, your mission, should you take it. Um, I need on Pandora is Rayleigh music. I came to work at the palace and I found out something quite amazing. I've done so many different things in my life, you would think I couldn't hold a job. From a singer to a social director, I was a party clown at one time. I was a party planner. I was on the cruise ships. I've had so many different jobs. Um, and when I came to work for the palace, everything I had ever done in my entire life came together in one job.
The variety of celebrations in the palace is vast and reflects the intercultural clientele. For Pam and her team, this means they need to come up with new ideas and themes to keep things interesting. So this is called, um, this is like writing, um, a letter to God. Today, they installed a virtual wailing wall for the celebration of Israel's Independence Day. We have a live feed to the wall where we'll be sending prayers, uh, via the internet to the wall instantaneously, and then somebody on the other end will immediately put the piece of paper that the prayer is on into a crack in the wall. So this person has asked for a speedy recovery for her loved ones. Um, I ask for Donald Trump not be president. And God will pick. Do you want to read? Let me see the shirt. Naked. I do. I, I created it. You created it? Yes, I did. That's nice. It's a peace sign. And do you know what shalom means? Like, hello, or peace, or what? It means hello, goodbye, and peace. Yeah. And you have a peace sign with the Star of David. It's amazing. Yeah. And you're gonna have. I gave you blue kerchiefs to tie around your neck. Okay. Okay. So everybody should have a blue kerchief. Yes, I do like it because it's my shirt. Don't forget the blue kerchiefs tied around the neck. You each have a blue kerchief. Okay. Almost showtime. Almost showtime. I like it. Pomegranates and ginger. Oh, they're already starting.
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Are all her family here? Just, um, her daughter Kathy. Let's see here. Okay. It makes a difference. It makes a difference. I'm not sure. Wait, wait, hold this. Yeah. Hi. Hello. Hello. Is she good? I don't know. Can you hold on for a while? Yeah, of course. Sorry. Um, like hair and makeup should be like back to back. Ready? Yes. So I just want to be kind of brief, and of course, I want to welcome you to the Palace. So I actually helped open the building whenever I was walking through with a hard hat. So I know every resident of 209. It doesn't matter who we are, what you need, you call us. That's what I want you to feel most comfortable with. It's fun. Organization with. And I will see something like this. Really. People who move here have to adjust to a new way of life and a new social environment. They often leave most of their belongings behind, since the majority of residents are moving from large homes and downsizing their living space dramatically. The first few weeks can be overwhelming and lonely. That's why the palace trains its staff to be extra close and supportive to people who have just moved in. I always tell everybody, I'm like the grandchild downstairs. So if you need some, you call, even if you're not sure, or you want to tell me a joke, copy, whatever it is. Listen, in a perfect world, everyone would be treated the same. Yeah, but that's not the case. And I don't mean that in a mean way. I mean, there's choices in life. You can either buy a Honda or you can buy a Mercedes. You can stay at the Motel 8 or you can afford to stay at the Four Seasons or the Ritz Carlton. With a certain level of luxury comes a certain level of service. I think they go hand in hand. All right. There's nothing better than giving. There's nothing better than giving. I know that most of the people like to receive. It's all about them, them. But let me tell you, when you receive, you get that double back in your life. That's a promise. I guarantee you that. So this is the opportunity for you guys to give. I mean, while you still get paid, but you still give. So it's what's in the, uh, proposes that we do a prayer, and she's gonna lead us to this prayer. Yes. Sure. Close your eyes. Listen up. Um, dear Holy Father, please help us get through this day and guide us to success. Amen. Amen.
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Come on. Okay. And your note has reached Israel, and within about two minutes, they're going to be placing it within a crack in the wall. Thank you. You're so very welcome. Anybody like to place a note in the wall in Jerusalem? Step forward. What would you like to say? My prayer is for peace and love. I pray for true peace for everyone. You want to say speedy recovery? Yes. I am. That's right. Best wishes to my daughter, Marissa. Um, become pregnant immediately. Escape key. Basically, health and happiness to all the, the all of us. You know, these girls have a deal. Um.
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Come on in. Grab a drink. Yeah. Yes. Perfect. This is amazing. I never sold it. What to have the license? It's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. What would you like to say? Please let there be peace in the world, in our lifetime, plus health. That's kind of recycling one without the other. Listen, um, do you want to sign your name? Yeah. Okay. You know my name. No, of course I do. You know it was just received in Jerusalem and will be placed in the wall within two minutes. Okay. But where is the answer? Oh, that's up to God. This is a direct line to God. I'm only placing the note for you.
The owners, Helen and Jacob Shaham, came from Israel to the United States in the early 80s.
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They bought a small, run-down home in Miami and started their first senior living community with just 21 people.
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In the beginning, they did everything themselves. They cooked, cleaned, and also helped nurse the residents.
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Placement. The industry only started. People did not understand what is an assisted living. Today, the Palace Group is a multi-million dollar company with more than 1100 employees.
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Count seven luxurious buildings and two ancillary operations, including home health and a pharmacy in the Greater Miami area. Company's new project in western Florida, its largest endeavor yet, is currently undergoing construction.
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All over the world, the demand for senior living facilities will rise as Baby Boomers reach retirement. A group of investors that works with the Japanese government visits the palace. Japanese Baby Boomers are on average five to ten years younger than their American counterparts, so Japan still has some time to arrive in style. We are Japanese largest real estate developer, and, uh, since this facility is obviously one of the best, we are going to learn as operation management, design from this facility. That's why we are here right now. We have over 210 residents with us, and every day we're doing a happy hour here, seven days a week, 365 days a year. So Pastor jurors, drink champagne, beer, wine, coffee, yes, every day, seven days a week, and that's included in the rent. They don't pay attention. Yes. Shown around by Heim Dubitsky, the son of the owners. He works for the palace as principal and vice president of performance excellence. They asked about you, Pam. And this is a decision from Japan. Actually, no. It depends. No, a different, a different group in time. Okay. Yeah. Pam is our entertainment director. Entertainment. So you are a dancer? I am. Would you like to hear something? Yeah, I guess so. Yeah. What would you like to hear? Uh, music.
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Yeah, thank you. Yeah. I am, I'm dancing. I don't do, but I give parties and I do sing. Actually, I myself didn't choose it. My son did. He said, "Mom, you can't live alone in this house." It was four bedrooms, and they said, "You can't live there alone." Oh, no. I love my house, and I really did. Then things started to go. A new roof, and the toilets overflowed. I went over to my son's, and they had the brochure from here. I looked. I said, "Sign me up." They almost fainted because they'd been trying to get me to go to a place like this. And then the next day, I signed up. But I didn't go for it because it was glamorous. It was just some place that, uh, that looked good. And that it, you can't tell how long it should be. About eight minutes. Take them out, put the jelly in, and put it back again. Well, you know, when I first moved here, I said, "Oh my God, they're going to be a lot of snobbish people because they, they have money and their children." Now, they're not like that, and that's what I like. I don't like people that, uh, they get a diamond and they, they go like this, and, "Oh, I drive this fancy thing." And that's what I don't like.
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Okay.
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John, you look so regal. Let's see. See this closes here. All right. And then we can bring this up like this. Okay. And then you hold your scepter. Um.
Your kingdom. My king. The Palace Coral Gables.
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What is it? Your dream idea. Um, I'm trying to set up a coffee station. I'm not sure, but I've been told to do this, though. I am doing so. I'm glad you're following the rouge and the and the orders of your messages. You look great. What are you doing? You're fun. What does a king do? Reign. You're right. You reign. You're reigning right now. I'm reigning. Sometimes it's a hurricane. Sometimes it's a flood. You never know. But the king reigns. Wow. Wow. What a ridiculous question. You're doing great. You're doing great. Of course, if I had the initiative, I guess I could write a book called "As the Palace Turns," like "As the World Turns." Met all the people. Have come here pretty much. I know their names. I know the names of all the employees, all the servers, and I feel like I'm really part of a very nice community. That was terrible. But a lot of people here have forgotten that was 2001. 15 years later, a lot of people don't realize we're every bit as much at risk now, and more, because the government hasn't done enough to protect us. The borders aren't sealed tight. We don't know who's coming in. The southern border, they can be Mexican, Central Americans, but they can also be Middle Eastern terrorists. Of course, I want Trump to be there. Hillary Clinton would be four more years of Obama. We can't afford four more years of those policies. I'm not a maniac. You know, he, everybody, like everyone else, he has some quirks and stuff. But, um, look, we have two choices: Hillary or Trump. And to me, it's no contest. But you like Trump with his Republican? I think Republican policies help the country. I think those are the right policies. Sure, small government, economy, take steps for growth in the economy, strong military, strong military to defend the country. Excuse me.
Throughout the building, there are areas where residents can gather in small groups and enjoy social activities like board games or sing-alongs.
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These doors because we have this is a card, and if you want to sing, I'll tell you a good place. Well, we used to have needle, needlework, the beating back to another part. Is that where the card room is? And that's where you should have your singing. It's perfect. No other things.
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Attack. You didn't, you called the front desk? Is that what we're supposed to do? No. Well, my love, the screen says that the theater class will return next week. We've been playing here quite a few weeks already and never been at this disturbance. I will close the door. Yes, yes, I will close the door. Wait a minute. What happened? It was canceled in Spanish. What is it? It's a short, uh, short word. I'll tell you. Actually, we do have a lot of fun. We're the only table that does it. Yeah, everybody's trippy every night, and everybody loves wants to sit at our table. We're the only table that laughs, and a lot of people want to sit at our table because it's the fun table. And some of the service, if we're not at their tables, it's "Come to my table." The service like us too. It's the fun table. It's boring. I'm with a lot of older people that want to go to bed early. If there's a movie after they go home to bed, we'll read that. Crossing through my kingdom. Attention, because everybody has to get back to work. Okay, but this is very serious. We have a group coming in, probably 400 plus people, on Friday night for our family and friends event. We also, family and friends events are the major marketing vehicle for the company, since most of their admissions come through word of mouth. For these events, the palace invites as many outside people as possible to experience the extravagant lifestyle within its walls. I really need you to be in character the entire time. That means you're not on your cell phones, you're not talking to your best friend during this, you're focusing on the guests and the residents in, um, your character. Okay. Halloween is known as one of the biggest of these events. The preparations often take months. Um, the guests will start arriving between 5:15 and 5:30. And any theater facade, blessed and less flex, endpoint, flex and point. I'm 81, and I'm 86, and you're 80. Oh, I'm much more than that, but I'm going to be silent on that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Well, you have a few people now that are 100 here. Yeah. No, no, men. I notice in your obituaries every morning. When am I losing a lot of friends? All in their 90s. Oh, man. You made. What was the name of that comedian? Alan King, who used to read the death notice and everyone, every death notice that survived by his wife, survived by his wife, and switch. Don't do faces right now. You see switch.
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It's about, uh, four to one, five to one women over men in this facility, and I think that's common.
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Thank you.
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We're all adults here. We can handle it. We're at the bar. No, just, you know, no one's listening. Sexuality. They read the two young or too old. I have sex at the age of 95. Well, enough for no sex at the age. You know, we've gotten old, and we grew old with our husbands, and to us, our husbands were always young. And when you see these very old men who cannot walk, yeah, and, and they look so undesirable, it, it turns us off. Yeah. You don't want the responsibility of taking place when you grow old with somebody. Then it's a different story. But when it's a stranger, well, the things happen. People get together. Couples get together. We've watched couples become couples here. Right. Yeah. We have a lot of mating here at the palace. Mating? Oh, my God. It's adorable. Yeah. Say whatever they want, but if I meet someone nice, I will accept them. Nothing like having a nice friend, a gentleman friend. Only if you have friends for us. Well, we share everything. All getting inside. It's very nice having a man's arms around you. I don't care what they say. They don't need a man. But I see Helen, when a man comes over to her, she, yeah, that's you. You, yeah. We saw a. You like that. We're home.
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Thank you.
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Something stupid.
A great number of the employees that work at the palace are young adults in high school or college. All the employees are carefully selected and undergo comprehensive training to provide the demanded level of service and attitude.
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All right, so for $50, mission statement. Do it, Brenda. Um, receptional.
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All right, guys, this is for the, this side over here, and we're gonna do for $50. Do you know this resident? So when I show you a picture of this resident, and I want to know if you guys can give me the name of this person. Um.
Yes.
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As most residents are no longer allowed to drive, the palace provides driving services. The palace bus takes them out for shopping or to special doctor appointments. The bus also drives residents to weekly scheduled outings. For some, these outings are the only occasions they have to leave their neighborhood.
And you're gonna be wait like, and you're gonna, you're gonna need diapers. Believe me. I'm honest with you. It is not funny, but it's, you're gonna have to change because you're, your clothes is gonna be wet immediately. Believe me. That lady, she's walked the whole time. She's not melting there. There she is. I think it's crazy. Okay, guys, listen. I don't care what she's doing. I am not gonna risk to have you sick by the end of the week. Okay? That won't be my responsibility.
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With date with the your Royal Majesty. Ha ha ho ho ho. Ha ha ho ho. I wish you luck. There's who wish my subject's luck. Yeah. And happiness. Are you the suffocating thing? What is your name, my friend? Are you one of my world subjects? I don't know. Am I?
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You must decide. Don't go to another country. I guess I'll get out of town. What, what is it that brings you here? To take care of you. Why do I need your hair? When as I who I've been dedicated to care for all residents of the palace and to see that they are happy and fulfilled. It's pretty eloquent. I like it. John, how dare you call me John? The King. John. Your Majesty. Your Majesty. Just because your father owns the place doesn't mean you can disrespect the king. It's true. Carry on, or I'll have you punished. Yesterday, compulsive fish on you. How well we're doing at the Palace of Coral Gables. How do we judge how well we're doing? This, what about the residents? The feedback from the residents. How do we know? The surveys we do. Two surveys: family satisfaction and the residents' satisfaction. How close are they together? Does anybody know? Are they far apart? The residents' office, the family services. They hate us. They love us. What are they? The same thing. It's the same. So those are two ways that we know how, what we're doing. What's the other way we know how we're doing? Anybody else? How filled we are. That is what a company calls the bottom line. All right, I want to give you some of the background here because I know you guys don't hear it a lot. There's a lot of competition. Who's our number one competitor? If anyone gets this, I may have $100 for you. Who's? I heard the Renaissance. Sweet. No. Not the one in Homestead. No, no, no. Israel. No. Home. Your home. I got my car key. The home is the number one competitor for everybody that moves here. It's not like they have to. They need to want to move. They need to have a reason to move here. They need to like it here. These people, you all know it's not cheap to live here. They have plenty of money. They can hire a housekeeper for themselves. They can hire an aid for themselves. They can hire a maintenance guy. They can hire a driver. They can hire a chef. And they will spend $15,000 to $20,000 to live in their own home before they come here. So why on earth are people moving here? Because life is life, and everyone goes through a lot of things that are both ways, positive, negative, tragedy, a lot of different things. I know in my life I've done that. And I think that it's time for us to have a certain kind of contentment where we don't have to worry about things that go up and down on a graph anymore, because that's what life is like. Never this way. Never. It's always this way. Oh, my loyal subjects, tonight. Pretty good. How are you? King. Your Majesty. And your Majesty. I should have started a question to ask one of royal nature. Tell me about yourself. How are you? I'm fine. Why? Because I'm one of your subjects. That's a good reason. What made you decide to come to the palace? My dear, very weak moment. The only reason I came here is because my daughter wanted me out of the house. And I guess you succeeded. Always. Well, she wanted him in a very nice place, after all. Yeah. She told you how nice the kingdom was and how absolutely, how generous the king was. Oh, absolutely. Is she? Is she paying? No expenses. And how expensive it is. Absolutely. Very good. Okay. Quite a few people here have the children paying for them here, paying the bill. I ate, uh, well, I pay. This year is $5,300 a month, and it goes up. And three, nine. My son takes care of it all. He has it invested where his money is invested, so I don't have to think about it. I don't want to think about money. B8.
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Okay. Yeah. One year to make questions. I'm in his sense, or you can charge more. $5,000 for a studio is too cheap. He thinks you can charge $6,000. Seven cents more. Oh, we will. This area, or when we started the building, we were $4,200 for that was four years ago. I see. And we've increased slowly. Once the building is full, yeah, we want to fill the building before we charge what we can. Yeah. As a matter of fact, from the kids, straightforward, the next 20, 30 years, this is the best business to be in. Old and sick. Always will be. Okay. The sidewalk is not even. Move forward a little bit. Be careful, Stanley. Okay. You're right. Okay. This is not even. Okay. When you look back on your life, as tragic as it has been, what, yes, what do you think being here that you miss most? Freedom. Me. Me. Come on, baby. Move it. Freedom. This freedom, use is not a prison. Yeah. I'm free, white, and 21. Yeah, way over 21. Moving on. This is, this is a story in my life. I have this one telling me what to do. This one telling me what to do. You only want out on my side. Are the dogs? Debbie, come with me. I need you to stick with the group. Okay, let's say together, guys. Let's walk around. We can eat later. My son became my father when this all happened to me. My children became my parents. I know they tell you, and they're right. I think what you need to, the way you need to describe it is they depend on us a lot. The kids, a lot of you nuts. Us. What is the real point of view? For so many years, in charge of everything. Sunday. Let's do a group picture. Come here. Come here. Smile. I have a great family, but they don't come that often. They don't take me that often. They're not going to watch out for me. They're so happy they don't have to pick me up and take me and do everything. They don't have to call me. They know I'm going to be busy. You know, you're safe. That's. I'm safe. I'm safe, and that's very important to me. It's also important to them. They live their lives. They're young.
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On average, residents spend three to four years in the palace. The time to move out often comes when someone loses their independence and needs more medical care.
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So for the majority of residents, the palace is their last home. Jumping off the diving board.
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And people come here and they're very lonely. They're lonely. Okay. And some people don't even know why they're here. You're right. Oh, my, my children put me here, but, uh, I'm closer to my children if I live here. That's sad, but I don't know anybody here. You know.
Foreign. And I sat in my, in a single seat by myself for a couple months, I guess it was.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Because TST arise. Mine too. Because I, I would play. Everything really makes me sad. I don't even know how. Added sound. I don't even know. I don't look in the mirror. I know if I look in the mirror, oh my God. You know, but, um, sure. I know I don't walk as fast, and there's the aches and pains here and there, but you can't dwell on the negative.
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Happy birthday. I just want to thank everybody for coming to my party and for being part of our Alice family. Birthdays are a welcome occasion for the residents to have a little personalized event. The residents finance these parties themselves, but there is no shortage of support since Pam makes sure that everything is set up the way they want it to be. No, uh, thank you for celebrating with me. How come nobody's eating the fruit? Nobody wants fruit.
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Thank you so much. This out. The product lecture. So we have the Grady twins here. We have Jack Torrance. He's ready to go. Do we have? Where's my makeup? The makeup. Let me put, let me give Jesse a little dark under the eyes. The time for Halloween has finally come. The residents and staff have been talking about the big party for weeks, and our guests are coming. The guests are coming. Right. Hi, I'm good. Happy Halloween. Right now, I'm really psyched. I'm really excited. I feel like I'm having a baby because this is like something I've been working on for a couple of months, and now I'm actually going to see it all come together with live characters, costumes, uh, sound, light, everything. So I'm very excited. I won't sleep tonight because I'll be so hyper. Pam made sure to build up the excitement with a big publicity rush. I think you can't live in the past. I know a lot of us tend to do that, but to live for towards the future, and that's why they plan activities, and that's why they have things that you look forward to.
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Yeah, I went up to Pam today, and I said to her, "I just have to tell you that I think it's so wonderful that we dress up at certain times. It elevates it. It takes it out of the ordinary."
Friends and family showed up in big numbers.
The stage is set for an evening that will be remembered and talked about. Another great success for the palace and another fun night for its residents.
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