News

Company Aids Seniors With Home Transitions
KANSAS CITY STAR, November 20, 2001
By Sue Bacon

Like many older adults, Carmel Herren faced a problem when she moved from a house that had been her home for 38 years to a retirement community in October.  “I went from seven rooms to three,” Herren said.  It was hard to decide what to take because I had family mementos that I wanted to keep.”  For help, Herren turned to Linda Scardino of Gentle Changes, an Overland Park company that assists seniors with housing transitions.  Scardino met with Herren at her home and made suggestions about sorting and making necessary decisions to scaling down.  Later, the two went to Lakeview Village Retirement Community in Lenexa, Herren’s new home, to figure out what would fit in her new floor plan.  “We were well prepared on moving day,” Herren said.  “We knew exactly where to place the furniture.”

Though moving day was an emotional upheaval for Herren, the move itself was practically stress free.  Scardino arrived at Herren’s about 8:00 in the morning.  The mover’s van pulled into the driveway at 9 am, left at ll am, and unloaded all the boxes and furniture at Lakeview by 12:30 pm.  At 4 pm, Herren went to dinner with a friend.  When she returned that evening, she found her clocks set, her bed made and all her belongings in place.  “Linda was so calm and serene all the time; she made the whole experience very pleasant,” Herren said.

Gentle Changes Helps Seniors Through Transitional Times
THE LEAVEN, July 31, 1998
By Pamela Reeb

Moving is never easy, whether you are moving across the country or around the corner.  The “to do” list is endless:  packing, unpacking, stopping services, selling the house, hiring the movers, finding a new place to live, connecting the phone.  But for senior citizens facing the move to a retirement community or a nursing home, the move can be particularly stressful.  That is where Gentle Changes comes in.  Established by Scardino last fall, the company is there to ease the transition from a private home into a retirement community.

The Right Move
KANSAS CITY STAR, March 8, 1998

Linda Scardino of Overland Park knows from her 14 years of work with older adults that the move from home to a retirement community is seldom easy.  Her new business, Gentle Changes, aims to ease the transition.  She handles the nuts and bolts of the move and the settling-in.  Scardino has a gentle, patient way about her that is comforting.

Gentle Changes Gives Elderly Help When They Need It the Most
KANSAS CITY STAR, Feb 4, 1998
By Linda Cruse

Moving can be stressful – even when the person relocating is looking forward to moving into their new house.  The stress can become overwhelming when a senior adult is making the transition from living at home to moving into a retirement community.  Linda Scardino, Overland Park, has started a company to lesson the stress by providing information, support and management to make the move a positive and successful experience.

Called Gentle Changes, the company was born out of Scardino’s 15 years of experience as an employee of a retirement community.  “I know what a confusing, stressful and lonely time the move can be, particularly for a senior adult whose family doesn’t live nearby,” she said.  My job is to make the transition as smooth as possible.”

OP Woman’s Firm Aims at Making Move a Gentle Change
OVERLAND PARK SUN NEWSPAPER, Jan. 14, 1998  

Some changes are harder than others, and one of the most difficult changes is moving out of an established home and into a retirement or assisted living home.  Overland Park resident Linda Scardino has witnessed what a tremendous struggle it can be to accept a new lifestyle and close down a household.  She has worked at Overland Park Place for 15 years, watching the elderly move in, closing up their former homes.

But Scardino says relocation doesn’t have to be a traumatic ordeal.  That’s why she has recently started a unique business, Gentle Changes, a support service for senior adults in transitional times and the seniors’ children.

Sion Alumna Makes Change a Positive Experience
SION TODAY, Fall 1998

Her business, Gentle Changes, grew out of a 14-year career working at an Overland Park retirement community.  Gentle Changes steps in to help clients make transitions from a private home to a retirement community.  “We help them manage their ‘to do’ lists.  We hire the movers, cancel and arrange new telephone and newspaper services, notify the Postal Service, and dozens of similar tasks.  All these mount up and put pressure on people who already are feeling uncertain about making changes.”