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"Grandma Hattie" and Harbor House
The Story Behind It All
Hattie Folie was a teacher in one-room schoolhouses in Southwest Wisconsin for more than 40 years. In the early 1970s, the family could tell that Grandma Hattie's memory was slipping. However, no one knew the true progression of her dementia - until the situation became a crisis. You see, Grandpa Bartley had been taking care of Grandma and covering for her illness as it progressed. Nobody knew how much care he had been providing or how far her disease had progressed until he wasn't there to do it anymore.
When Grandpa Bartley died in the barn one day during morning chores, all was revealed and as a result a true prognosis was determined. Ultimately, Hattie was placed in a nursing home, but it did not go well. She complained and was restrained and over-medicated—all standard practices at the time. The family experienced the usual feelings of guilt and frustration. They wanted to help Hattie, but no one understood Alzheimer's, or person-centered dementia care techniques, like we do today.
Grandma Hattie passed away in the early 1980s. Delores, who had been just a few years out of nursing school, never forgot her Grandma's struggles with dementia. In 1989, Delores was working as a Nurse Consultant when she made a visit to an assisted living facility, realizing immediately that her grandmother would have flourished in this type of setting.
Why? This facility had a cozy, homelike environment with a family atmosphere--just what Delores would have wanted for Grandma Hattie. Not long after, Delores founded ElderHaus, which became one of the nation's most respected assisted living and memory care providers. Now called Harbor House, this company has served Wisconsin families for over twenty years.
At Harbor House, when we say that our commitment is by family, for family, that is a promise more than two decades in the making.
Learn more about Harbor House by visiting the following pages:
Hattie Folie was a teacher in one-room schoolhouses in Southwest Wisconsin for more than 40 years. In the early 1970s, the family could tell that Grandma Hattie's memory was slipping. However, no one knew the true progression of her dementia - until the situation became a crisis.
