Page 23 - BusinessWest November 14, 2022

Staying Power
The Arbors Celebrates 25 Years of Business of Growth, Diversity
By Kailey Houle
For the past 25 years, Sara Robertson and her family have run one of the most successful assisted-living facilities in Western Mass. and
now Northern Conn. But she stressed repeatedly that this success did not come easily.
“We learned early on about the importance of all the hard work and dedication that our grandparents and parents put into evolving and growing the com- pany,” she said, “and just how challenging making your own success truly is.”
Robertson, co-owner, her sister Emily Quinn, and cousin Amie Hanrahan grew up working for their parents and grandparents. Starting as teenagers, they handled just about every job one can take on at an assisted-living facility — landscaping, dishwashing, housekeeping, and more. Those assignments taught some invaluable lessons and have helped guide them every day as they manage Arbors Assisted Liv- ing Communities, grow the family business, and take it in new directions in this broad sector — everything from home care to memory care, as we’ll see.
Those same lessons helped guide the company and its leadership through the pandemic and the myriad challenges it brought to all those working in assisted living and related businesses.
“We learned best practices to keep our residents in communication with their families and loved ones when they weren’t able to visit,” Robertson told Busi-
nessWest. “We adapted to new ways of activities and dining options. We eventually found our new nor- mal, and all the practices we have in place to keep our residents and staff safe are a part of our everyday life now.”
Building Blocks
As the Arbors celebrates 25 years of success, growth, and evolution, Robertson reflected on where this family has been, where it is today, and where it might go in the future. She began with some history, starting with the venture known as E.A. Gralia Con- struction, launched by their grandparents.
“They would build everything from hotels and plazas to senior housing like Wilbraham Commons and facilities like that,” said Robertson. “Then my parents basically started to focus on senior housing.”
They built more than 5,000 housing units, as
well as schools, hotels, nursing homes, and several elderly-housing developments, she went on, adding that, when this second generation took control of the family business, it evolved into what is now Arbors Assisted Living Communities.
From the beginning, the family sought out growth opportunities, and took full advantage of them. Indeed, senior housing was available in Aga-
wam and Wilbraham, but not in many other places
The Arbors puts a focus on resident quality of life.
BusinessWest
HEALTHCARE
NOVEMBER 14, 2022 23