SENIORS OFFERED OTHER OPTIONS IN GRAYSON

Perhaps Michelle Enter says it best. “One of the most difficult tasks we face as humans living in a society is how we take care of our senior parents.” Enter should know. As community relations director for Dogwood Forest of Grayson, she spends each day helping families and individuals make those sometimes-hard choices on where an older loved one will live and how will they be taken care of.

“There may come a point in time when a senior can no longer live on their own, though, as members of their families, we must make difficult decisions regarding how we handle this situation,” she said. “On one hand, it's emotionally taxing to see someone you love not be able to take care of themselves when they use to be the one taking care of you. The duty of being a caregiver to an elderly parent is an important one but can often be stressful. When the child becomes the parent, the change in roles can be challenging if you don’t find the right balance.

Assisted living communities, such as Dogwood Forest of Grayson can sometimes offer the best solution by allowing the senior to remain independent yet assuring the family that their loved one will be cared for and secure.

“Assisted living communities provide support with what are referred to as ADLs, or activities of daily life, which includes bathing, dressing, grooming, continence, feeding and transferring,” Enter said. “Assisted living communities also offer help with medication management, life enrichment programs, a secure environment, well-balanced meals, housekeeping, and laundry services, just to name a few.”

Dogwood Forest of Grayson features 99 units, 74 of which are assisted living and 25 are memory care apartments. Amenities are numerous and include a courtyard and fountain, a garden, walking trail and outdoor fireplace. There are multiple dining options from casual dining, bistro dining and formal dining rooms for private functions. Dogwood Forest has a wellness center with physical rehabilitation programs, a concierge physicians’ program, and a podiatrist and dentist that comes on site to see residents.

“We have individualized wellness plans, on-site nurses, holistic wellness and fitness programs, daily activities, outings and enrichment programs,” Enter said, adding that the community also offers local transportation, weekly devotional and spiritual events, three chef-prepared meals a day, weekly housekeeping and laundry services, concierge services, inhouse beauty and barber shop and a movie theater.

With an attractive stone facade covering the steel and cement infrastructure, Dogwood Forest of Grayson is situated on manicured acreage at 1754 Grayson Highway in Grayson.

“Our environments are clinically proven to produce positive outcomes for our senior residents,” Enter said. “We firmly believe our holistic approach to senior care sets us apart and above all other senior living providers. We believe that personal spiritual enrichment is a key element in maximizing quality of life.

Greatest Honor Is Helping Children, Parents & Grandparents GWINNETT NATIVE, DR. AMITA NAWATHE

BY BETH SLAUGHTER SEXTON STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Classmates at Collins Hill High School probably remember Amita Nawathe as a smart young lady who played violin in the school orchestra, served in the Beta Club and whose passion was volunteering.

“The experiences of volunteering in our community still shape who I am and how I see the world,” she said.

Indeed, the volunteering she did in high school led her to now become Dr. Amita Nawathe, M.D., a primary care physician with Emory Healthcare.

“I could spend hours talking about the people I met and the stories that shaped me from helping children and parents at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to spending time volunteering with a local skilled nursing facility over the holiday seasons,” Nawathe said.

A native of Gwinnett County, Nawathe grew up in Duluth, Lilburn and Suwanee, attending district schools all 12 years.

“Attending Collins Hill High School was an incredible experience and a lot of what I learned remained pertinent through my life from macroeconomics to psychology—a course that was taught so well that it not only influenced my choice of majors in college, but continued to serve me well through medical school,” she said. “I visited Arabia Mountain in Lithonia...and realized that a lot of my knowledge about rock formation and biomes came from Ms. Brace, who taught biology to both my brother and me at Collins Hill.”

Nawathe said Gwinnett was an “incredible place to grow up.” She graduated from Hopkins Elementary, Creekland Middle School and with honors at Collins Hill High before enrolling at The University of Georgia..

“UGA is where I found myself and who I wanted to be,” Nawathe said. “Amidst the expansive grounds of the beautiful campus, I not only found lifelong friends but also professors who I keep in touch with to this day. Thanks to the strong Advance Placement program at Collins Hill, I was able to join the Honors Program and have the credits to complete majors in biology, psychology and broadcast news and minor in Spanish.”

Nawathe became part of think tanks and the debate club and continued her passion for volunteering, including helping out in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. She also did research focusing on genomics to blood bank to gestational diabetes.

“What I was most proud of was my work with women, from the mentoring program I founded through the Association for Women in Science, to working to help foster healthy pregnancies and teaching science to Girl Scouts in Athens,” she said.

Nawathe decided to attend Mercer University School of Medicine and says it was “one of the best decisions I ever made.”

She completed her Family Medicine Residency at Mercer University/Navicent Health in Macon, where she received her second Gold Foundation Award for Humanism and Excellence in Teaching.

“The school's problem-based learning program and intentionally small class size fostered a strong sense of community and lifelong connections,” she added. “I went on to graduate from Mercer's Family Medicine Residency where I was able to fully engage in the full spectrum of life from newborn care to adolescence, young adulthood, helping women navigate through parenthood while staying healthy themselves and spent a lot of time developing skills in geriatric medicine.

“What I love the most about family medicine is that my work allows me to be fully present in the lives of my patients and stay with them through the ups and downs of life. My goal is to help each of my patients fully understand and take charge of their health so that together we can create fuller, healthier lives.”

Nawathe is a board-certified family medicine physician. Her academic interests included preventative medicine, family planning, women's health, adolescent medicine, obesity, nutrition/ exercise, geriatric medicine and healthy aging, as well as management for chronic disease.

“One of the greatest honors of my life is caring for patients from children to parents and grandparents,” Nawathe said. “I am devoted to helping my patients navigate through the complexities of their illness and empower patients and families toward achieving wellness.”

Nawathe and her husband, Arvind Shrihari, who is a software engineer, have been married four years. When not working, the doctor enjoys traveling, reading, art, cycling and spending time with friends and family.

The daughter of Dilip, an engineer who works through Warner Robbins Air Force Base and Veena, a retired preschool teacher from Berkmar Church School in Lilburn, Nawathe has a brother, Anay Nawathe, who recently graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer engineering and a business minor for Scheller College of Business. He is a consultant in Washington, D.C.

“My array of experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings have given me a passion for evidence-based care,” Nawathe said. “In addition to physical health, I strive to care for the whole person. This includes their mental health, social health and emotional well-being. I realize achieving good health is an on-going process and no matter what your age, I want to help you thrive.”

Dr. Nawathe's office is located at Emory at Snellville at 1790 Presidential Circle. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 678-495-2843.