Willow Manor at Cabin Branch, a new rental community in Clarksburg, Maryland, is open to people 62 and over and their younger family members. One-bedroom rents start at $1,499, and two-bedrooms start at $1,899. Pets, including large dogs, are welcome, too. Photo courtesy of Willow Manor at Cabin Branch

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Chef at Falcons Landing wins top award 

Falcons Landing, a nonprofit Life Plan Community in Potomac Falls, Virginia, has won an award for its cuisine. 

Its executive chef, Jeffrey Potter, was named the Best Chef in Loudoun County as part of the Loudoun Times-Mirror’s Best of Loudoun contest in June. 

This isn’t the first award for Falcons Landing; it has received many since it opened in 1996. So far this year alone, it has won awards from U.S. News, Newsweek and Virginia Living’s Best of Virginia Northern Region, including Best Retirement Community, Best Independent Living, Best Continuing Care Retirement Community and Best Short-Term Rehabilitation Center. 

“Thanks to Chef Jeff, Falcons Landing’s dining program is genuinely exceptional, significantly enhancing our residents’ quality of life,” Gary Handley, CEO/President, said in a statement. 

Potter oversees the property’s three restaurants. “Having a personal connection with our residents, their families and guests makes this more than a job,” Potter said in a statement.  

“We are a community of foodies dedicated to having the highest quality and variety in our culinary program throughout all our restaurants and dining options.” 

Falcons Landing’s independent living units are open to anyone who served in the military or U.S. government for at least four years.  

They are also open to people or spouses with “a significant special relationship with the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, federally funded research and development centers or other government agencies associated with the national defense.”  

Falcons Landing’s long-term care, rehab, nursing, assisted living and memory care units are open to the general public. For more information, visit FalconsLanding.org or call (703) 293-5054. 

New rental community opens in Clarksburg, Md. 

A new rental community that caters to older adults has opened in Clarksburg, Maryland. Willow Manor at Cabin Branch is open to people 62 and over and their younger family members. Pets are also welcome, including large dogs. 

Located just south of Clarksburg Premium Outlets, Willow Manor’s four-story building includes 125 studio, one- and two-bedroom units. The development was built with the help of tax credits and tax-exempt bonds, which makes prices more affordable. One-bedroom rents start at $1,499; two-bedrooms at $1,899. 

The community offers residents a fitness center, café, computer room and yoga room, and there are walking trails nearby.  

Willow Manor at Cabin Branch, which is managed by Habitat America, LLC, is an equal housing opportunity community. Applicants must meet maximum and minimum income level requirements. For more information, or to schedule a personal tour, visit WillowManorCabinBranch.com or call (301) 528-4000. 

Help for caregivers of people with dementia in Northern Virginia 

In July, a new government program became available in Northern Virginia to help older people with dementia and their caregivers. 

Through the program, known as GUIDE (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience), families are assigned a free care navigator to coordinate the patient’s care, improve quality of life for them and their family caregivers, and help patients remain in their homes or retirement community. 

Before the program launched on July 1, “You were on your own” in managing care, said Jodi Lyons, chief care officer at CareBrains, a care management practice in Northern Virginia that is authorized to provide services under GUIDE.  

“If you wanted to really get information and referrals and make a care plan — somebody to help talk to your lawyer, help you pick a home care agency or an assisted living or memory care facility — you had to do it yourself” and pay for it privately.  

Now, patients and their caregivers can get much-needed guidance, education and even respite care (up to $2,500/year), all covered by Medicare.  

So far, however, the program is only available to people with original Medicare, not Medicare Advantage. Long-term nursing home residents are not eligible, either. 

“The goal is to support the family caregivers so the loved one can stay in the community — which could mean a memory care unit, though not a nursing home — and keep the family caregiver healthy as well,” Lyons said. She noted that unpaid caregivers often develop “horrendous” health problems due to stress and fatigue. 

For more information, Virginia residents can go to CareBrains.com or call (703) 436-0150. GUIDE services are supposed to become available in D.C. and Maryland starting in July 2025.