Price / Utah / United States
Heirloom Inn opened November of 2000, but work began long ago for Shauna OBrien. It actually began in High School, not with Heirloom Inn in mind, but with a goal of becoming a successful working woman. The one person who served as a friend and mentor to Shauna was her mother, Lois Telarole, who spent 40 years in the nursing field. She gave Shauna more than a background of helping others. One honor bestowed on her mother was the "Humanitarian Award" and Shauna stepped into the working world as a senior in High School. It was her mothers work ethic and determination to change peoples lives that influenced the young woman. Shauna states that "through her, I saw how to be an angel." Shauna began work at 17 years old in the x-ray room in radiology and later coordinated the visiting doctors program, where specialists from all over the state would come into the hospital to work with the patients. The dream continued after her marriage to Dave OBrien, who was working hard to establish his plumbing and heating business. They also owned independent housing units and as a receptionist for these businesses Shauna heard over and over again from the aging population about problems they were having keeping their homes up. So the research began here, on the other end of the phone, until one day she realized there was a definite need for a center where people could age with dignity in a stress free environment. the wheels were turning in Shaunas mind and she began visiting places in Utah and California looking at nursing homes and assisted living centers. She became active with the Utah Association of Assisted Living and studied rules and regulations. Together, Shauna and Dave purchased a closed-down grocery business called D&G Warehouse. Shauna sat down and started sketching what she envisioned the building to look like and passed on the sketches to her husband, who with an architect, took the dreams to the next level. Dignity is very important to OBrien. Everything at Heirloom Inn is focused on this concept. This begins with dressing and grooming, and also transcends into staying active, and maintaining independence. Even the exercise of getting to and from the dining room three times a day is providing more exercise than most residents were getting in their homes. Shauna is very proud of the staff she employs. She considers them family and they all take much pride in the work that they do!
