Jeff LaBelle, Wood Glen Hall’s new executive director, brings a focus on health and nutrition, as well as a sense of family and desire to serve aging adults to his post. Wood Glen Hall is a nonprofit retirement residence with affordable independent and assisted living at 3010 Foothill Road, Santa Barbara.
LaBelle holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and nutritional science from Colorado State University and an advanced degree in geriatrics from the University of Central Florida.
LaBelle grew up with three brothers, the son of a chemist father and mother who worked as a doctor. His father was found to have Alzheimer’s disease at an early age, and LaBelle said the diagnosis changed his own career trajectory. He decided to pursue an advanced degree in geriatrics and go into the healthcare field after his father’s passing.
LaBelle believes in assisting and educating families on senior living, assisted living, neurological disease, and promoting a proactive lifestyle to reduce dementia risk factors. Over the last five years, he has delved into clinical studies focused on neurological diseases to better understand his father’s fate and to educate others.
“I am honored to be part of a great team and a very special community here at Wood Glen Hall,” he said.
Wood Glen Hall was founded 65 years ago by Aileen and Adrian Wood with the intention of providing “elderly men and women with an ideal, non-institutional home at minimum cost.”
Wood Glen Hall provides residents with a full-time activities coordinator who organizes regular activities, classes and special events on site, including Flamenco dancers during Fiesta in Santa Barbara, an Independence Day barbecue, a historian portraying Abe Lincoln, and a classic car parade.
Music, art, exercise classes and games are offered daily; while performers, speakers, and community leaders visit regularly. For more, call 1-805-687-7771 or visit https://woodglenhall.org/.