Comfort Village Memory Care

“Comfort Village provides luxury living here in La Pine,” describes Crina Horga, one of four partners responsible for developing the newly opened memory care facility.

Comfort Village Memory Care – ‘Creating a Place Where Residents Feel at Home’

By Andrea Hine, Contributing Writer

“Taking care of people is what I do – it’s where my heart is,” said Ana Petras, co-owner of Comfort Village Memory Care, who has been taking care of elderly for over 20 years in her own adult foster care home. Her credentials also include building a 156-patient hospice company from scratch – with Crina Horga, a second co-owner – which became one of the most successful in Portland, “We had an excellent reputation in the community for our sensitive and compassionate care,” Petras noted, “and that’s what is most important to my three partners and me in opening Comfort Village.”

With backgrounds in memory care, assisted living, adult foster care, and hospice and palliative care, the four co-owners were gratified to hear, during their first open house, that “a tremendous need exists for this type of facility.” As Petras described, “meeting all the visitors was very motivating and energizing. Especially coming from a large urban environment, we found La Pine’s small-town feel amazing. There was such an outpouring of excitement and encouragement.”

“While Comfort Village is open to all, we are focusing on veterans,” added Milo Brandt, a partner and military veteran who has “always worked with others in that underserved demographic. While younger people in the military have a lot of resources available to them, a distinct disparity exists in terms of helping those who served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam conflict. We want to repay this group of older veterans for their sacrifices by creating a place where they feel at home.”

Brandt reiterated, however, that while “we want to take care of those who have taken care of us, Comfort Village absolutely caters to everyone.”

In the same vein, living in La Pine, Deschutes County, or even Oregon is not a requirement for residency. As Petras explained, “people are welcome from anywhere, with the caveat that they have been diagnosed with a memory issue.”

She confirmed that point by noting that “one of our first residents was brought over from Eugene by his son to live here, and a husband is transferring his wife from an Oregon City facility, where he had regularly commuted to visit her. It’s nice to know that residents can have a home near their loved ones.”

“Comfort Village provides luxury living here in La Pine,” said Crina Horga, who is also its executive director. As she described, the newly renovated facility consists of four wings of one-bedroom, ADA-compliant apartments that accommodate a total of 30 residents. Each apartment has a full bath, living room and space for a kitchenette.

Additional amenities include an easily accessible outdoor courtyard, and an activity room – which offers movies, games, comfortable furniture for reading, and even a piano for music and dancing – where families can gather for private dining and time together. “Everything is very organized and clean,” noted Petras, “with multiple windows that let in lots of natural light.”

She added that “a dining space in each wing was designed to draw residents together, and help create a sense of familiarity and routine – which is important for those suffering memory loss. For that reason, we also encourage people to bring their own furniture, family photos and other valued possessions to help them feel comfortable in their new surroundings.”

“La Pine has been so welcoming, everyone at the county level has been phenomenal, and local organizations have been tremendously helpful,” said George Horga, co-owner. “We couldn’t be happier to be here.”