Emerald Court

Our family-owned business was founded in 2004, when we bought our first facility in Bellingham, Washington. Our thirty-five bed facility became the foundation in which our business grew. But our story begins years before, in 1998 when Constance Paiu immigrated to the United States with $2000 in her pocket and only knowing two English words: 'coffee' and 'chicken.' Although a successful and well-known surgeon in Romania, Connie came to find the American Dream--to build something for her daughters and grandchildren that would last generations. Three years later, in 2001, she helped her daughter (Laura Goicu) move to the states where she attended Western Washington University and graduated with her Bachelors in Mathematics. While attending university, Laura was also a full-time worker and a full-time mom to a newborn baby. One evening, on her twelve-hour shift as a CNA in a nursing home, Laura was trying to get some studying in while the residents slept. She was warned that if she was caught studying on her shift again, her employment would be terminated. So while walking the halls of the 100+ room facility, she told herself that one day she'll own a facility like that one. 

Twenty years later, we have the privilege of opening our own all-inclusive, 100+ room retirement community in the heart of Pinellas County. Along the way, the mother-daughter duo expanded to include our Vice President of Operations, Jessica Hansen, who started as a cook in the kitchen at our family's second facility, Country Inn. Jessica was a single-mom, living in her car when Connie and Laura took a chance on her. Through the years, she has proven to be a vital asset to the business and has long outgrown the term "employee" as she is now family.