Over the last 20 years, what has made Otterbein Granville so special is the relationships that we’ve built on campus. In fact, some of the partners (employees) in our community have been with us for the entire 20 years. While we pride ourselves on our amazing amenities, we know it’s the people who really make the difference.

Hear from some of our veteran partners and original residents on why they believed in — and continue to champion — our community.

Longtime Partners at Otterbein

Otterbein Granville partners consider the community to be like family, and all appreciate the sense of belonging and ownership they feel here.

“They wanted the residents and staff to be like family here, and that’s what drew me here,” said Stella McDonald, certified dietary manager. “And as more people come in, I saw that. The people here are wonderful.”

Although there was much initial work to do in getting the community ready for move-in, McDonald says she enjoyed getting to see everything from the ground up.

“When I started, it was before all the residents moved in. We didn’t even have pavement out here, and I was up in one of the bedrooms in the farmhouse as an office. There was a lot of work, a lot of cleaning, a lot of getting things done. But I had the luxury of meeting every resident that came in, and it was wonderful,” she said.

Jennifer Weekly, regional clinical support who started at the community as the director of nursing, added, “For this to be a good place to live, it has to be a good place to work. So that was my challenge for both the employees and residents. We wanted to be a five-star community, so we had to be a five-star staff.”

As with any move-in, sometimes things didn’t quite go as planned, said Tony Munyan, skilled nursing cook: “We were just getting stuff in, like equipment and food, so it was a little hectic trying to get that stuff cleaned and washed. And when the painters were here, we had to cover them up, and they uncovered it, so we had to reclean it.”

Residents Reminisce on Otterbein Granville Founding

Several founding residents at the community also spoke to the mutual connection between residents and partners at Otterbein Granville.

“They know everybody’s name, which is very important. And the residents know the employees’ names, and they know about them too. Everybody’s open and friendly and does their best,” said Jane G.

Betty H. said she appreciated all the partners do to help ensure a maintenance-free lifestyle for residents: “Anything you need done, they come up within a few hours. It’s anybody — people in the health center are helpful, helpful in the dining room. They’re just so helpful and willing to please and do what they have to do to keep us happy.”

Some residents and partners even consider themselves like family — like resident Jane H., who calls dining server Abby Butt her granddaughter: “We’re close friends. It’s not a frivolous relationship. We love each other — truly.”

Explore Otterbein Granville

Since its opening in 2005, Otterbein Granville has been a resident-driven community where differences are celebrated and individual interests and personalities are valued.

In our village-style life plan community, gracious public spaces complement well-designed private senior living residences, including apartments, cottages, and villas. We are a Level I Arboretum with walking trails, yet we have easy freeway access to the “big city” of Columbus and an international airport.