Planning for a Future in Williamsburg

ChooseHome Member: Bruce Hurwitz

Bruce Hurwitz has a thing for numbers.

After spending a career working in engineering and mathematics, he now counts analyzing investment trends across the country as a hobby. And if you ask him, he’ll tell you, “I have about 80 million close friends. I say it that way because I’m a baby boomer. I was born in 1946 and am at the bow wave of the baby boom. Simply stated, as baby boomers age (and require additional medical care), which is what we all do, I know there won’t be enough assisted living facilities in this country for all of us. It’s a serious problem.”

Hurwitz and his wife, Sharon, are among the growing number of older adults across the nation, and here in the region, electing to age in a place of their choosing – electing to age in place in their homes.

“When we moved here to Williamsburg and Riverside decided that they wanted to create this service called ChooseHome, Sharon and I went to almost all of their focus groups,” Hurwitz

said. “We listened. We talked about it. And then we were some of the first to sign up and get accepted.” Throughout his career, Hurwitz said, “I moved around quite a bit.” When it came time to retire, “Sharon and I didn’t really know where we wanted to end up. We did try a couple of different places, a couple of different states.” Then they remembered how much they enjoyed Virginia and the friends they already knew living here. So in 2002 they moved to Williamsburg.

They continued to make more friends in their neighborhood and found that they not only enjoyed the life they made in Williamsburg, but they also enjoyed their home, their independence.

They walk three or more miles every day through the paths of their community. Every Monday night Hurwitz runs a 5K along Duke of Gloucester Street in Colonial Williamsburg. “And that’s what really triggered me to look up, learn about and apply for ChooseHome,” Hurwitz said. “We just don’t want to move anymore.” Because of all of his running, walking and healthy living, Hurwitz said he’s doing really well. So far, he hasn’t needed all of the services ChooseHome offers.

“At some point, because we all age, I assume I will,” Hurwitz said. But being a numbers guy, and proactively planning out his future, he’s bet on ChooseHome keeping him in his home safely for as long as he wants to be there and then being there for him when he needs more. “ChooseHome made it so easy it was a no brainer for me,” Hurwitz said. “It was exactly what I needed and exactly what I wanted.”