Studio
34 m² · 366 sq ft · 22 availableOne bright room with a sleeping alcove, kitchenette and level-access bathroom. Most face the east lawn and get the morning sun.
$3,400/ mo
6 vacant
01/Fenwick Hollow, Vermont
A smaller place, on purpose.
Seventy-eight apartments and one dining room, on nine acres above the Winooski valley. Everybody eats in the same room, so everybody knows your name by the second week.
Willowbend has offered independent living, assisted living and memory care on one campus since 2004. When care needs change, people stay in the apartment they already know — we bring the care to them.
Perfect for: adult children researching care for a parent
24-hour licensed nursing · 1:6 daytime staffing · all-inclusive monthly fee
02/What families ask first
24-hour nursing, on site
A licensed nurse is in the building every hour of every day — not on call from town, not a call button routed to an answering service.
One carer to six residents
Our daytime ratio is 1:6 and we publish it. Overnight it is 1:14 with two nurses awake. Ask any community you tour for the same number.
No move-out when care changes
Every apartment is licensed for assisted living. If your mother needs more help in year three, she keeps her windows, her view and her neighbours.
03/Three levels, one building
Care that moves, so nobody has to.
Every monthly fee below is all-inclusive: apartment, three meals, housekeeping, laundry, utilities, activities and the care described. There is no separate care tier, no points system and no à-la-carte billing.
Level 01
Independent Living
For people who manage their own day and simply want the cooking, cleaning and shovelling to stop. Care is available if you want it — most residents at this level use none for the first two years.
$3,400
/ month, from
All-inclusive · 12-month agreement
22 of 78 apartments · 6 vacant now
Typical move-in: 4–8 weeks from enquiry
- Meals
- Three daily, one seating
- Housekeeping
- Weekly, linens included
- Nurse check-ins
- On request
- Transport
- Twice weekly to Montpelier
Level 02
Assisted Living
For people who need a hand with two or three things — dressing, bathing, medication, getting to the dining room — and want the rest of the day left alone. Care plans are reviewed every ninety days with the family present.
$4,850
/ month, from
All-inclusive · care plan included
41 of 78 apartments · 3 vacant now
Care plan written before the move, not after
- Personal care
- Up to 3 daily visits
- Medication
- Nurse-managed, full
- Care review
- Every 90 days
- Night staffing
- 1:14, two nurses awake
Level 03
Memory Care
Fourteen apartments in the Hollow Wing, with a secured garden door residents may use freely in daylight. Staff are trained in dementia care specifically, and the daily rhythm stays identical week to week because familiarity is the treatment.
$6,200
/ month, from
All-inclusive · 14 apartments only
14 of 78 apartments · 2 vacant now
Waiting list joined at no cost, place held
- Wing size
- 14 apartments
- Staffing
- 1:4 daytime
- Secured garden
- Open 08:00–19:00
- Family sessions
- Monthly, facilitated
04/A Tuesday, start to finish
A day at Willowbend.
Nothing here is compulsory. This is simply what is on offer between breakfast and the last pot of tea, and roughly when.
Breakfast opens
Served until 09:30. Eggs cooked to order; the kitchen keeps a note of how you take them.
Nurse rounds
Medication and check-ins, apartment by apartment, in the same order every morning.
Movement class
Seated or standing, in the sunroom. Led by Marguerite, our activities lead, three mornings a week.
Lunch, one seating
Everyone eats together. Two mains, one always vegetarian, plus whatever came out of the kitchen garden.
Afternoon programme
Rotating: the Wednesday film, a bus to Montpelier, the gardening club, or the Thursday visiting choir.
Tea in the sunroom
Unstructured and well-attended. Chess board stays out; the crossword is done aloud, badly.
Supper
Lighter than lunch. Families are welcome any evening — tell the kitchen by 15:00 and they will lay a place.
Night staff take over
Two nurses awake through the night, plus four care staff. The building never goes unattended.
05/Willowbend, in numbers
78Apartments, all licensed for assisted living
1:6Daytime carer to resident ratio
22Years on the same nine acres
9Acres of grounds, gardens and walking paths
06/Three floorplans
Rooms with your own furniture in them.
Every apartment has a full bathroom with a level-access shower, a kitchenette, individual heating and a window that opens. Residents bring their own furniture — we will help measure before the move.
One-bedroom
52 m² · 560 sq ft · 41 availableA separate bedroom with a door that closes, which matters more than people expect. Room for a two-seat sofa and a proper dining table.
$4,850/ mo
3 vacant
Companion suite
61 m² · 657 sq ft · 15 availableTwo private bedrooms either side of a shared sitting room. Chosen by couples, by sisters, and by two residents who met here and decided to split the rent.
$6,200/ mo
2 vacant
07/One kitchen, one room
Everybody eats in the same room.
There is no separate dining hall for memory care and no tray service unless someone is unwell. Chef Dahlia Røste has run the kitchen since 2016 and buys from four farms inside twenty miles.
The kitchen
Two mains at every lunch, one always vegetarian. Soft and modified-texture diets are cooked to the same recipes, not blended separately.
- Three meals daily, one seating
- Kitchen garden, four raised beds
- Family places, notice by 15:00
- Dietitian review each quarter
The grounds
Nine acres, with a half-mile loop path that is level, lit and gritted in winter — the single most-used amenity we have.
- Half-mile level walking loop
- Secured garden, Hollow Wing
- Greenhouse and potting shed
- Two covered verandas
08/From the families
The people who chose it, on choosing it.
“We toured six places. Willowbend was the only one where the staff said hello to residents by name while we were walking past, rather than to us.”
Cathleen Ferraro
Daughter of a resident · Burlington · since 2023
“My father moved from independent to assisted living in his third year. Same apartment, same window. He did not have to learn a new building at eighty-eight.”
Weston Ihejirika
Son of a resident · Montpelier · since 2021
“The fee has gone up twice in four years and both times we got a letter explaining exactly why, three months ahead. That is not nothing in this industry.”
Rosalind Tapper
Niece and power of attorney · Barre · since 2022
09/Who you will actually meet
Four names worth knowing.
Willowbend employs 61 people. These four are the ones families deal with most, and all four have been here longer than five years.
HN
Halina Novrup
Executive Director · since 2011Runs the building and signs every fee letter personally. Came from twelve years in community nursing and still covers a Sunday shift most months.
ES
Dr. Emeka Sowande
Clinical Director · Registered Nurse, MSNA gerontological nurse practitioner by training. Writes every care plan, reviews each one at ninety days, and chairs the family meeting.
MB
Marguerite Boisvert
Activities Lead · since 2014Runs the movement class, the gardening club and the Wednesday film. Keeps a notebook of what every resident used to do for work.
DR
Dahlia Røste
Head Chef · since 2016Buys from four farms within twenty miles. Cooks modified-texture meals to the same recipes as everyone else's, which is rarer than it should be.
10/Ten straight answers
Questions families ask us.
What exactly is included in the monthly fee?
The apartment, all utilities including heat and Wi-Fi, three meals a day, weekly housekeeping, personal laundry, all activities and transport, and the care described at your level. There is no separate care charge and no points system. The only extra costs are a personal phone line, hairdressing and anything you order from outside the building.
Who manages medication, and how?
A licensed nurse manages medication for every assisted living and memory care resident — ordering, storage, administration and reconciliation after any hospital stay. Independent living residents may self-manage or hand it over at any point without changing their fee or their level.
Can my mother bring her own furniture?
Yes, and most people do. Apartments arrive empty apart from window blinds and the kitchenette. We will send exact floorplan dimensions before the move and Marguerite will walk the room with you to check what fits — the most common mistake is an over-large sofa.
Are pets allowed?
Cats and dogs under 30 lb are welcome in independent and assisted living, with a one-time $400 pet fee. We ask for a named person who will take the animal if the resident can no longer care for it. Pets are not permitted in the Hollow Wing, but visiting animals come through twice a month.
What are the visiting hours?
There are none. Family and friends come when they like, including overnight in the two guest rooms at $65 a night. We ask only that you sign in at the desk so the fire list is accurate, and that you tell the kitchen by 15:00 if you are staying for supper.
What happens if care needs increase?
Every apartment is licensed for assisted living, so the care comes to the resident rather than the resident moving to the care. Dr. Sowande reassesses, the fee moves to the corresponding level, and you get ninety days' written notice of any change. The only move that ever happens is into the Hollow Wing, and only when a secured setting is genuinely safer.
Do you offer respite or short stays?
Yes. Respite stays run from one week to ninety days at $215 a night all-inclusive, subject to an apartment being free. Families use it after a hospital discharge, during their own holidays, or as a trial before committing. Respite residents join everything.
How is this paid for?
Most residents pay privately from savings, a pension or the sale of a house. We accept long-term care insurance and will bill your insurer directly. Some veterans' benefits may also apply. We are a private-pay community and do not accept state assistance programmes; our admissions coordinator will tell you plainly at the first call if the numbers do not work.
What is the staffing overnight?
Two licensed nurses awake through the night plus four care staff, for a ratio of roughly 1:14. Nobody is on call from home. The Hollow Wing has a dedicated overnight carer who does not cover other floors.
How long is the wait?
It depends on the apartment. Studios usually come free within four to eight weeks. One-bedrooms run three to six months and companion suites longer. Joining the list costs nothing and holds your place — you may decline twice without losing it.
11/Come and see it
A smaller place, on purpose.
Visit on a Tuesday and stay for lunch — that is when the building is most itself. No appointment is strictly necessary, but calling ahead means Halina can walk you round personally and the kitchen will lay two extra places.