Companion living is a new concept for assisted living facilities in this area that is catching on says Joann Cardullo.

As the executive director and administrator of All American Assisted Living on Toll Gate Road that opened on Jan. 14, Cardullo was the hostess to a grand opening celebration Thursday at the facility on Toll Gate Road. The complex can house 112 residents. The place was packed as residents mingled with family and friends, vendors, owners and employees from care facilities, those thinking of moving to an assisted living facility and a sprinkling of city officials.

Companion living, where residents share a bathroom and a common area between two bedrooms enables All American to reduce costs.

“When they find out what the cost is, they say ‘wow’,” said Cardullo. Another attractive feature, she says, is that a monthly charge of $4,100 is “inclusive.” That means there’s no extra charge should a resident require additional medical attention or should they want to participate in an activity.

As of last Thursday, All American had 20 residents with another seven preparing to move in within the next couple of weeks, she said. Of the 112 the facility can accommodate, 24 are in a special unit for residents with dementia and memory issues. The unit that has an inclusive rate of $5,700 already has 10 residents.

One of the first to move in to All American, Geraldine Codario, wore a black dress that showed off her jewelry and her smile. A retired nurse who grew up in Central Falls and returned to Rhode Island after working in California, Codario, who is not married, said it was her sibling who convinced her to consider assisted living.

“To come to a place like this is the worst thing,” she remembers thinking. “At first I was not going to do it.”

But her brother and his wife persisted and she is glad they did.

“They brought me here and that was it,” she said.

While Cordario has found a home at All American, Nick Apostolou, 92, is still looking for life’s next transition. Apostolou lives in Cowesett in a single-family home. His career was in food service and at one time he owned and operated the Steak & Shake in Apponaug. He has visited a number of assisted living facilities and done his homework.

He said the environment is the key consideration. He is looking for a place where there is activity and socialization.

What about food?

“That’s not such a big thing now. I used to live to eat, now I eat to live,” he said. Apostolou has looked at his budget and figures for what he pays in taxes, home insurance, utilities and food he could live at All American and maybe even come out ahead. Apostolou isn’t rushing it, however.

Cardullo said All American employs 30 and when fully occupied will have a staff of 110 full- and part-time employees. She said residents range from 71 to 94 years old.

Surely the newest is Sam Green, who moved in Wednesday from his condominium at Wethersfield Commons. Green’s niece, Debbie Weinreich, explained that Green is “as sharp as a tack” but he has difficulty getting around because of Parkinson’s. Living alone, the family was concerned for Green, especially since he was living in a second story unit. They checked out options and are delighted with the people they found at All American although packing up Green’s belongings and leaving him was not what Weinreich imagined.

“Now I know what it must feel like to drop a kid off at college,” she said.

College is an analogy All American personnel use in describing companion living. Moving into a suite is like going to college to discover your roommate. Green doesn’t have a companion resident yet, but Weinreich notes All American looks at backgrounds, hobbies and even whether they are a morning or night person to make a fit.