Cottages of Green Valley caregiver lauds community’s style, service

Elaine Caminiti liked the Cottages of Green Valley even when it was under construction. She applied to be a caregiver and med tech in June of 2002 and joined the assisted living and memory care community a month later.

"I live up the street from the Cottages and kept driving by it while it was under construction," said Caminiti, a native of Kansas who has lived in Las Vegas for 15 years. "I had no idea what it was going to be at the time and when I discovered it was going to be an assisted living and memory care community, I called one of the nurses for an interview."

The Cottages of Green Valley, which is situated at 2620 Robindale Road just west of Pecos Road in Green Valley, opened in July of 2002, and Caminiti has been a part of the residential care team ever since.

"I was astounded by the unique style of the Cottages," she said. "In particular, thiscottage-style concept is residential with no long hallways or elevators. There are no more than 12 residents in each cottage. It's a home-like design that allows the residents to feel like they are a part of the family. They eat at a table just like they were in their own home. It's such a neat way of serving, and they absolutely love the interaction. It does not take long for them to feel at home here."

In particular, Caminiti lauded Cottages of Green Valley managing member Cadry Genena and administrator Trudy Andrews.

"I love it here," she said. "If you're going to work for someone, they need to be there every day. You simply don't see ownership like the one here, and management makes the employees feel so good.

"There is a stability factor here that you simply don't find often anymore. Most other communities like this are owned by out-of-state corporations and things are different when that's the case. The fact that this is locally owned presents a very healthy environment. Our residents are moving here from a different lifestyle and, at first, they are apprehensive. In just a little while, they blossom and love it here."

Residents participate in activities in Rose Hall and a library is located in Pine Lodge. There are also garden areas and walkways in the gated community.

Caminiti also said resident family members have 24-hour access to the Cottages.

Genena said Caminiti possesses unique talents, especially her compassion for the residents of the Cottages.

"This business is a caring business," he said. "You can teach people how to clean and make a bed, but they have to care. Those are the people we look for, and that's exactly what Elaine is about. She cares about people here as though they are her own family. Our caregivers are good people trying to make a difference every day in our residents' lives."

Andrews echoed Genena saying "Elaine has been here since the doors were first opened, and she has never missed a day of work. You just don't find people like that anymore. We don't use temporary help at the Cottages because they don't know our residents."

The Cottages of Green Valley is the result of extensive hands-on research by Genena and his wife, Donna.

"We wanted to design a community that our own parents would be happy to live in." Genena said.

Each resident at the Cottages is provided meals three times a day. A higher caregiver ratio ensures attention for residents, which average 83.5 years of age.

Additionally, the Cottages has two activity directors for a community of less than 100 residents. The community, which opened in 2002, has five memory care cottages and four assisted living cottages, which are all single-story cottages.

For more information, visit the Cottages of Green Valley from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day. Scheduled evening tours are also available. Information can be found at cottagesgv.com.