When the Unexpected Happens: How the Cohen Center for Health Gave One Forest Resident Peace of Mind

When Michael Hyman chose to make The Forest at Duke his home, he was thinking about the future for himself and his wife Nancy, but he wasn’t necessarily thinking about post-operative care.

A resident of The Terraces since November 2025, Michael was drawn to The Forest partly for its continuing care structure. After years of living in Greensboro (where he was born and grew up), Florida, England, and New Jersey, and traveling internationally for work and play, he wanted a retirement option that would give him fewer responsibilities and more freedom to travel. “Most importantly was the ability to age within the community with all the health care needs available on site,” he says.

Initially, though, Michael imagined that his need for on-site health care would come later. He was mostly focused on the built-in conveniences of on-site housekeeping, transportation, and fitness facilities. He swims for 45 minutes every morning, then walks on the treadmill for another 30 minutes with his wife. He envisioned The Forest as a place where he could maintain this active lifestyle while knowing that additional support would be available if he ever needed it.

That peace of mind became especially meaningful just a few months after he moved in.

An unexpected need for care

In February 2026, Michael was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After considering his options, he decided to undergo robotic surgery at Duke Cancer Center in July. Michael arranged in advance to go directly from the hospital to the Cohen Center for Health for respite care.

The Cohen Center offers temporary stays for Forest residents, providing an important bridge between a hospital stay and returning home. For Michael, choosing a more aggressive treatment for his prostate cancer felt more manageable because he knew what would happen after the surgery. “One of the things that allowed me to feel confident making this decision is that I wouldn’t have to worry about the post-op care,” he says.

The plan was to stay at the Cohen Center for Health for three days. Instead, some post-operative complications meant Michael stayed for nearly two weeks. “The Center was flexible enough to extend the stay,” he says. “The entire staff was skilled and highly motivated.”

Care without the worry

When Michael left Duke Cancer Center, he had a 15-page discharge document detailing his medications and other post-operative instructions. Rather than figuring everything out on his own, he simply handed the paperwork to the Cohen Center team. “I didn’t have to worry, and my wife didn’t have to worry,” he says.

Michael’s recovery included managing multiple medications as well as ten days of injections to help prevent blood clots. At the Cohen Center, he had access to nurses, certified nursing assistants, and housekeeping and dining services. Duke Geriatric Physicians provide services to the Cohen Center as needed, and pharmacy services are available every day of the week. “I know I would not have done as good a job managing all those medications on my own,” Michael says.

The Cohen Center’s around-the-clock care is part of The Forest’s larger continuum of care, which allows residents to transition to different levels of support as their needs change. The Cohen Center includes Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing, as well as temporary stays for residents like Michael who need short-term support. This continuum of care means residents already have a familiar community and care team to turn to when their needs change due to a diagnosis, fall, or other health care need.

“When I had complications or concerns, it saved me from having to go to an urgent care center or call a doctor,” Michael says. “It took the guesswork and worry out of it.”

A place that still felt like home

While medical care was the primary reason for Michael’s stay at the Cohen Center, the setting itself made his recovery more comfortable. He stayed on the third floor in Hickory South, where he had access to an outdoor terrace, a dining area, and a comfortable lounge. He could walk through the main area of the building or even make his way back to his apartment in The Terraces without going outside.

Opened in February 2023, the approximately 108,000-square-foot Cohen Center for Health was designed around a “Small House” model of care. Its nine households support different levels of care while creating a more homelike alternative to a traditional institutional health care setting. Each household includes a kitchen, dining room, den, living room, screened porch, and a group of private resident rooms.

The small house design helps to encourage relationships between residents and the people who care for them. Activities, housekeeping, and dining team members work alongside Health Services staff, sharing responsibility for meeting residents’ needs. For Michael, this model translated into something simple but important: he felt cared for.

Throughout his stay, his wife was just a five-minute walk away in The Terraces. She could easily visit, without having to take on the role of caregiver herself. Family members can also choose to dine with residents in the Cohen Center, giving loved ones another opportunity to remain connected during a stay.

The value of planning ahead

Looking back, Michael says that when he first toured The Forest, he probably spent more time thinking about the pool and fitness center than the health care options. “I didn’t think as much about the health factors, but I should have,” he says. His experience at the Cohen Center changed his perspective. “The care there was just exceptional,” he shares.

For someone in his late 60s considering a continuing care retirement community, Michael believes it’s worth thinking beyond what life looks like today. “What I get today is a nice apartment and meals on site, but I also get the availability of emergency staff, an on-site clinic, on-site physical therapy and occupational therapy, plus the Health Center and respite care.” This continuum of care translates to peace of mind for himself and his wife. He knows that if something happened to either of them, the other would still have a community around them to provide support.

After his recovery, Michael returned to the “supportive, community-driven environment” he had chosen to call home, one where he can swim every morning, travel when he wants, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like coffee on the patio with his wife.

And perhaps that is one of the greatest benefits of a continuing care community: You don’t have to know exactly what the future will bring. You simply have to know that, whatever it brings, you won’t have to face it alone.