As dementia and Alzheimer’s disease progress, so do the needs of your loved one. Whether it’s early-to-late stage dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, your goal is to ensure that your loved one not only feels at peace in a memory care environment, but also that the healthcare providers are attuned to your loved one’s changing needs.
Nurturing environment
At The Village at Gainesville, residents and family members can expect high-quality, personal assistance and two-way communication about their family member’s well-being. Equally important, each resident receives a customized care plan based on his or her medical, social, physical and memory needs.
Two memory “neighborhoods” cater to the personal needs of your loved one. Ivy Lane is a smaller community with 12 residents, and Azalea Trace provides care to 20 residents. In both communities, The Village at Gainesville places a high value on maintaining a small resident-to-staff ratio. This means each day, your loved one will receive care from the same team of attentive staff, which will increase their overall comfort and will provide you even more peace of mind. Additionally, our small resident-to-staff ratio ensures each of our staff members has the chance to get to know your loved one closely, so they can provide personally tailored, family-like care.
What sets The Village at Gainesville apart from other memory care environments is its culture. Not only do staff members treat residents with kindness, respect, empathy and patience, but also they meet residents where they are in their memory journey. “It’s important that we stay abreast of memory care best practices and incorporate them into what we do,” said Andrae Ware, Assisted Living Activities Supervisor.
Meet people where they are
This philosophy of “meeting people where they are” stems from the Positive Approach® to Care (PAC) method developed by Teepa Snow, an occupational therapist and one of America’s leading experts on dementia. Snow’s method focuses on the individual’s abilities that remain versus what has been lost. All healthcare associates receive training in this approach, so they understand how to develop relationships with residents and care for them on a social, physical and intellectual level.
Purposeful and engaging activities
For all of us, variety is the spice of life, but it becomes vital for those living with a memory impairment. The Village at Gainesville offers activities for its memory care residents centered around four categories: wellness, productive, leisure and restorative.
Piloga-Chi is an example of a wellness activity, and it helps residents build core strength and improve posture and breathing. Included in wellness is an exercise in cognition where Andrae projects Google Earth on a large screen and residents can “fly” to their home town or visit a famous landmark. “This activity brings so much joy to our residents,” said Andrae. To remain productive, residents may knit baby caps or participate in a singalong—a resident favorite—to enjoy leisure time. Finally, to help residents relax and make them feel pampered, associates offer weekly manicures.
Family members are always welcome to join the activities or lead an event such as playing a musical instrument, sharing a slide show from a recent trip or leading a craft.
“For me, the most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing residents live a full and balanced life,” said Andrae.
Navigating through the stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s is a hardship for the caregiver and the loved one. If you believe it’s time to seek support in your journey, look to us as your guide, resource—and a place of hope for your loved one. Call us today at 352-548-3507.