Governors Glen - Forest Park, GA

Governor's Glen opened in 1999 as an exclusive Alzheimer's/memory impaired assisted living community. Its founder and owner, Dr. Paul A. Colon, was a caregiver for his mother, Millie Michaels, who passed away from Alzheimer's Disease in 1997. Becoming an ALFA certified developer, he used his experience and knowledge to help design an assisted living residence that looks and feels like a home, not a hospital or hotel. Dr. Colon learned through his experience with his mother that socialization is the key to survival for a person with Alzheimer's. His mother was staying at home receiving 24-hour care when she fell and broke her hip in 1993. She was almost non-verbal and had lost much weight prior to her fall. But with a stay at a rehab facility, receiving social stimulation, she began showing signs of cognitive improvement. Dr. Colon was inspired to build a place for his mom, a place where residents would be loved and cared for and safe. His mother passed away before the dream could be realized for her, but her picture hangs over the fireplace in the parlor at Governor's Glen, with a plaque inscribed: "Dedicated to the memory of Millie Michaels and all those who have endured the challenges of memory impairment." Though she succumbed to Alzheimer's Disease, her legacy lives on today.