Business

‘Serving with Dignity’: New Canaan Woman Launches ‘God’s Acre Concierge’

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A longtime New Canaan resident has launched a new business designed to help local families in need of home healthcare services. Katarina Tchakorov, a registered nurse and private-duty and post-surgical care specialist, said she launched God’s Acre Concierge to cover “care for seniors, end-of-life responsibilities and also recovery after aesthetic surgeries.” 

“So many times people don’t want to go or stay in the hospitals when they are recovering after aesthetic surgeries—they go home, but they need the support of a registered nurse,” she said. “We provide the support and match the client with a registered nurse.”

Known to scores of local families as the former director at The Inn assisted living facility, Tchakarov said that care “is not just about physical assistance to people, but it’s also about serving with dignity.”

“We try to make people independent and bring peace of mind for loved ones,” she said. The company offers several levels of service, including daily care, memory care, hospital-to-home recovery and end-of-life care. One service, called “Total Care,” is for clients who are “bedbound or significantly mobility-limited,” according to the God’s Acre Concierge website.

Around Town

Waveny LifeCare Network ‘Breaks Ground’ on New Rehab Center

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Waveny LifeCare Network—a venerable nonprofit that provides a continuum of care for seniors—this week “broke ground” on a widely anticipated new facility in New Canaan. Announced at a ceremony held Wednesday at the organization’s Farm Road headquarters, the inpatient rehabilitation center is expected to address what officials called the growing challenge of increased demand for local post-acute care. The approximately 41,000-square-foot facility will serve 400 additional patients annually and give patients access to high-quality services, according to Waveny President and CEO Russell Barksdale Jr.

“We felt that we owed it to the community to expand our five-star quality,” Barksdale said at a ground-breaking ceremony launching the new facility. “This means more people can come in and actually rehab and take part in the short-term program.”

Barksdale said he believed the new rehabilitation center was necessary to accommodate the growing number of patients in need of a home. “We can only accept a very small percentage of people that get sent to us, and returning that many people down is impactful,” he said.

Arianne Kolb

‘Preserving This Treasure’: Merritt Parkway Exhibition on at New Canaan Library

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A new exhibition based on a historic local roadway has opened at New Canaan Library. Featuring artistic pieces inspired by the Merritt Parkway that emphasize its features and construction, the historical and architectural exhibition was created by the Merritt Parkway Conservancy. The nonprofit organization’s executive director, New Canaan’s Arianna Kolb, said she came up with the idea of “The Merritt: Masterwork of Design and Planning” after the library “was looking for an exhibition to honor America’s 250 birthday and celebrate this special year.”

Kolb said she believed the 27-and-a-half mile Merritt Parkway would be “perfect” for that because of its iconic reputation. 

“It’s on the National Register of Historic Places, a National Scenic Highway,” she said. “It really is one of Connecticut’s architectural treasures, in addition to being one of the country’s most impressive achievements in 20th century public architecture, engineering and landscape design.”

On display in the Lightburn Gallery through August, the exhibition includes the “history of the construction and design of the parkway and what went into it,” Kolb said. “The first part of the exhibition is mainly historical photographs.”

She added: “There was also an artist, Howard Heath, who documented the construction of the parkway in watercolors, and I was able to track down two remaining watercolors.

Around Town

‘My Favorite Time’: The Glass House ‘Summer Party’ Set for June 6

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A world-famous architectural wonder in New Canaan- the primary National Trust for Historic Preservation Site in Connecticut- is preparing to hold its sole annual fundraiser. The Glass House will host its popular event, “The Summer Party,” on June 6. The party brings together people through art, dance, architecture and food, according to Kirsten Reoch, executive director of The Glass House. “We modeled it on the 1967 ‘Country Happening’ that happened on our site when Philip Johnson hosted this party,” Reoch told NewCanaanite.com. 

“We took that idea of having a sort of summer daytime picnic event that combines our own recreation and community building with performance art and visual arts,” she said. The Velvet Underground played at that inaugural “summer party” at The Glass House in New Canaan, Reoch noted. The modern-day event features many works of art, dance and music, she said.

Around Town

A Race for All Kids Fighting Cancer: The Gracie Fund’s ‘Soap Box Derby’

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A New Canaan family will host an event in town this fall to support children and families facing pediatric cancer. Grace Falsetta, a New Canaan High School freshman, was diagnosed with leukemia in middle school. Soon after, she and her family launched the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of children facing life-threatening cancer by supporting the people, programs, and organizations that care for them. After hosting a well-attended fundraiser in 2023, the NC Combine, Grace Falsetta — together with her twin sister, Isabella Falsetta, and their friend, Tate Salerno — came up the “Soap Box Derby.” 

“The NC Combine was great,” Grace Falsetta told NewCanaanite.com. “After that, so many kids wanted to get involved and we decided that we needed an event focused around kids.