Environments for Aging - Summer 2018 - 56

THE SPARK

Course
correction

Laura Busalacchi, Brookdale
Senior Living's senior director
of interior services, shares
how her undergrad studies
intersected with a personal
experience to shape her
career trajectory
hen I was
about 9

EFAmagazine.com * Summer 2018

where she went downhill quickly. Her environment didn't fit her needs. She seemed confined to a recliner because she couldn't push
the footrest down and get out of the chair. The
lighting was dim, and her interaction with staff
members wasn't meaningful or purposeful.
From that experience, I knew that interior
design, focused on healthcare/senior living,
was the career for me. However, when I was
coming into the industry, senior living wasn't a
segment-it was healthcare/senior living-and
the job search was dismal, at best. I coldcalled design firms to see if anyone needed
help ... for free. The first call when someone
actually answered the phone was my last, and
I started working one day a week for a small
design firm doing healthcare. I was in heaven!
After a few months, I started getting paid
and stayed at the firm for a couple of years,
absorbing all I could.

My next step was working as an interior
designer for an up-and-coming senior living
company, Alternative Living Services (which
eventually became Brookdale Senior Living).
There, I worked on space planning for new
construction buildings; specifications for finishes, furniture, fixtures, and equipment; and
accessorizing the spaces for grand openings.
As the communities aged, I worked on the
renovations, as well. This experience sealed
my fate. I fell head over heels for the environment, the residents, and the overall purpose.
To this day, I still can't imagine not working
in the senior living industry. I love everything
about it. EFA

If you're interested in sharing the story of what
ignited your passion for senior living design,
contact Executive Editor Anne DiNardo at
anne.dinardo@emeraldexpo.com.

NATHALIE DION

years old, I
entered a drawing
contest advertised
in the newspaper.
You might remember
seeing it-the pencil
sketch of a turtle
wearing a hat. You
had to replicate the turtle and submit it for
review. A few months after my submission, I
was notified that my drawing was really good
and that had I been qualified (I was too young),
I might have won. From that point on, I knew I
wanted a career in a creative field.
When I was ready to graduate high school,
all I could think about was attending the
private fine arts college I'd chosen and what
would come next. I'd figure out what I was
best at, graduate, and get a fabulous job. But
going into my second year, I realized that I
wasn't good enough at any of the majors offered. However, when I looked at the school's
sister college, I saw that it had an interior
design degree. A light bulb went off. I'd always
enjoyed interior finishes and furniture rearranging, so why wouldn't this be a good fit?
On I went to pursue my newly identified
career path. Each semester of the program
included classes that focused on specific
areas of interior design. I found myself excited,
inspired, and intrigued by the semester on
healthcare, which incorporated senior living.
This class hit home for me for two reasons: job
security (we'll always have an aging population
in need of housing) and my grandmother. It
was around this time that she was diagnosed
with Alzheimer's and placed in a nursing home

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Environments for Aging - Summer 2018

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