Environments for Aging - Summer 2019 - 33

HARRY HOBSON
President and CEO, Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay
(Sarasota, Fla.)

aring for seniors is in Harry Hobson's DNA. Exposed to the industry
as a young child by way of his mother's role as owner/operator of
a rest home for retirees, he found his future career in finance guided by
a desire to work with older adults to make a difference in their lives. He
made his way to a CEO position early in his career at senior living communities Rappahannock Westminster Canterbury and First Community
Village in Upper Arlington, Ohio, affording him the opportunity to steer
key decisions regarding improvements to quality of life-and he's been
doing it ever since.
Hobson transitioned in 2004 to the Plymouth Harbor continuing care
retirement community, where he's described as serving as both a "beloved leader and a devoted
friend." And when it was time to add a significant assisted living (AL) and memory care component to the site overlooking Sarasota Bay, he set out to do so in a manner that would create an
AL environment that felt seamless next to independent living (IL). Additionally, the memory care
component of the project includes innovative elements like sensory stations on a memory care
walking path and innovative lighting solutions to support circadian rhythm.
He spent three years assembling the right team with shared values to achieve his vision. The
project was completed in January 2018. Here, he shares more about what fueled him and where
he hopes to see the industry head next.

Environments for Aging: Tell us about your vision to create an AL environment
that's indistinguishable from IL.

JIM ROOF PHOTOGRAPHY

Harry Hobson: One of the challenges many of our older adults face is dealing with the reality of
aging and becoming more dependent. It has always concerned me that so many communities
(ours included) exacerbated that concern by transitioning residents from a comfortable, homelike
environment to a more institutional setting. This setting can often create a self-fulling prophecy of
behavior patterns that encourage more dependence versus a maximization of independence.
My team was totally focused on creating assisted living and memory support components on
our campus that nearly mirrored residential (independent) living environments. We challenged
ourselves, the architects, contractors, and others to take this project personally and deliver

DESIGN
CHAMPIONS

residential comfort
with stimulating
ambience, from color
schemes, furniture
selections, and congregate
spaces designed to encourage maximum
social interaction.

You launched a fundraising effort
to help avoid the value engineering
of important design elements. Why
was this close to your heart?
Most of us know that eventually our vision
becomes a bit "healthier" than what our
pocketbook can withstand. We have also
experienced that step of value engineering.
It's necessary and without it oftentimes a
project cannot reach fruition.
We didn't want to dial back our vision
so far that we wouldn't be able to offer the
accommodations, care, and services that
we were passionate about. So, we committed ourselves to a philanthropic process
that, if successful, would preserve some
programmatic items that could be offered to
our residents to maximize their experience
at Plymouth Harbor. Our foundation and its
leadership worked tirelessly, assisting me
in building a case for support among our
constituency that led to success and the
preservation of our initial vision.

How did supporting circadian
rhythm become a vital piece of
your vision?
Sundown syndrome is a well-documented
behavioral effect in older adults experiencing cognitive changes. Circadian rhythm is
our internal clock that gauges such things
as deepest sleep, highest alertness, best
coordination, and highest blood pressure.
Circadian rhythm is impacted by available
natural light and length of day. If some degree
of consistency can be maintained by natural
light, then circadian rhythm may be better
supported. We have noted that this has decreased the biological underpinnings of those
experiencing sundown syndrome by providing a better night's sleep, which translates
into healthier and happier residents. EFA

MORE ONLINE: To read the full
interviews with the Design Champions
winners, visit EFAmagazine.com/2019design-champions.
Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay, Sarasota, Fla

Summer 2018
2019 ** EFAmagazine.com
EFAmagazine.com
Summer

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http://efamagazine.com/2019-design-champions http://efamagazine.com/2019-design-champions http://www.EFAmagazine.com http://www.EFAmagazine.com

Environments for Aging - Summer 2019

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