Three years after members took over, Oak Harbor Club is thriving, with new staff leaders, upgraded facilities and innovative programs, including a nurse registry that club board member Elizabeth Hallenden says is unique on the east coast of Florida. The boutique, 55-and-up community has an older demographic, with many members who have downsized out of island homes. The nurse registry program, run by Wellness Director Caitlin Kennedy, RN, is designed to provide members with onsite care as well as an advocate who can facilitate and follow their care at local hospitals. The club also offers a range of other healthcare services, fitness programs, talks by local doctors and a daily check-in feature. An international group of new top staff members, including several who are running their own programs for the first time, have been integral to the club’s transformation. General Manager Claudio Gonzalez arrived in April after a 10-year stint as assistant general manager at Piper’s Landing Yacht & Country Club in Martin County. A native of Chile, who attended hospitality school in that country, Gonzalez worked his way up through the Florida country club network over several decades, starting with entry-level jobs before moving on to food and beverage management and assistant GM jobs. “This is my dream,” he says of the opportunity to have the top job at a club for the first time, with a strong staff and board that gives him the freedom to be ambitious and creative in his efforts to make Oak Harbor better for members and staff. “Claudio was recommended to us by David Colclough, the new general manager at John’s Island,” says Hallenden. “He gave us Claudio’s resume and said, ‘you got to meet this guy.’” “When we met Claudio we knew he was the right person. David knew exactly what we were looking for.” “I worked with David when I was pool manager and assistant food and beverage manager at another country club and we stayed in touch over the years. He saw me growing,” says Gonzalez, who oversees a staff of 48 at Oak Harbor. “I love this job. I wish I had a bed here so I could start in first thing when I get up in the morning!” PGA Golf Professional Matthew Challenor took over as golf director in May. “He brought a wonderful new energy to our program,” Hallenden says. “It is very refreshing.” A native of Shrewsbury, England, Challenor worked at Windsor for 22 years as a teaching pro before moving to Quail Valley. He had only been at Quail a short time when Oak Harbor called. “We were looking for a golf director, and we got a call from a friend who said, ‘I’ve got the person you want.’ When Matthew came in to talk with us, I liked everything he had to say about running a golf program. We are thrilled to have him. Our golf program was shrinking but now it is expanding.” Challenor gave the club’s nine-hole golf course a name, The Turn, and got it rated with the Florida State Golf Association, which allows members to have official handicaps and facilitates tournaments. “That put us on the map in a number of ways and inspires members to play more,” says Challenor. “It elevates our program.” Club Executive Chef Matthew Barbaretta is relatively new on campus, too. “He came to us two years ago from a large country club in the Carolinas where they had a number of facilities,” Hallenden says. Like Gonzalez and Challenor, Barbaretta was tired of sitting in the second chair and wanted to be in charge of his own kitchen and food service operation. “That is consistent about all the people we have hired – they were all ready for the next level professionally and ready to do their own thing,” says Hallenden. “Because of that, they bring tremendous enthusiasm to their jobs at the club, along with decades of experience. [Barbaretta] runs the kitchen and dining room beautifully.” Wellness Director Caitlin Kennedy, RN, started in her position this summer. She had worked in the community previously, as an RN at Somerset House, the assisted living facility in Oak Harbor. She returned in July when the club obtained a nurse registry license from the state that allows Kennedy to act as a “matchmaker” to connect patients and families with independent-contractor healthcare providers such as RNs, LPNs, CNAs and home health aides under her supervision. Nurse registry programs are licensed and regulated by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration under Chapter 400 of the Florida Statutes. Kennedy is also available to assist with and oversee hospital care. “If someone goes into the hospital, I’m following the case from start to finish,” Kennedy says. “I’m checking in on them, following up with their families and making sure they get the best possible care.” Kennedy is well known in the Vero Beach medical community and knows many local medical professionals, having worked at Cleveland Clinic, VNA Hospice, Palm Gardens and for an internal medicine practice here. That enables her to connect residents with the right caregivers and help move care along if there is a hitch. She helps patients activate their long-term care insurance so they can get reimbursed sooner and works her connections to get them into good rehab facilities when needed. “We’ve had days when three or four of our members are in the hospital, and Caitlin is over there with them, making sure orders don’t get missed, calling their families, letting their friends here at the club know what their status is,” Hallenden says. If a member needs follow-up care at home, Kennedy sets them up with certified professionals so they can stay in their homes instead of going to a senior living facility. She’s also on hand to provide at home care and evaluation. “Just the other day, a gentleman got a piece of glass in his foot, and was bleeding all over,” Hallenden says. “Caitlin was over there in two seconds. She got the glass out of his foot, cleaned the wound and bandaged him up,” saving the member a trip to a crowded emergency room or urgent care facility. If a resident isn’t feeling well, she can examine them and take their vitals and contact their primary care office to see if the doctor wants to prescribe something. If a resident needs to be seen on a Friday or over the weekend, she has a network of nurse practitioners who will see them if they can’t get into their regular doctor’s office. There is also a daily check-in service. If members who live alone do not check in on time, Kennedy tries to contact them. “If they don’t respond, I grab my emergency bag and head over to find out what is going on,” she says. “You don’t get that kind of service at most clubs,” Hallenden adds. Kennedy is also in charge of fitness and wellness activities at the club and brings in doctors and other medical professionals to give informational presentations and care for club members on site. “She’s got a podiatrist who comes every month and a masseuse who comes weekly and other doctors or contractors who come in to provide services, so we don’t have to go out to be taken care of. It is all handled here, which is one of the most valuable things we offer to our members,” says Hallenden. Oak Harbor has 235 residences, including 60 condominiums and 175 single-family homes and golf cottages. The club has 187 members, up from 160 when members gained ownership. There is no waiting list and membership initiation fees start at $25,000 and go up to about $45,000, according to Membership Director Kathy Jones. You do not have to be a resident to join. The elegant 42,000-square-foot clubhouse has a new roof and new A/C system, along with new furniture and flooring since the members took control. A successful $3.2-million capital campaign has enabled the club to make a wide range of improvements without taking out any loans, according to Hallenden. Golf and croquet are the top sports, but the club also has tennis, pickle-ball, swimming, a well-equipped fitness center and a reputation for gourmet dining. <em>Photos by Joshua Kodis</em> [gallery ids="238032,238033,238034,238035,238036"]