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OUR
MEMORY IMPAIRMENT NEIGHBORHOOD
Heritage Garden
Alzheimer's Disease, dementia and other memory impairments rob a person of their short-term memory. It also affects their ability to reason and make decisions in a traditional way. Seniors suffering from memory impairment often face a labyrinth of unfamiliar faces and surroundings as their faculties diminish. As a result, their world becomes one of confusion, frustration and sometimes anger. People suffering from memory impairments often retreat to the long-term memory they still retain, finding solace in pieces of history and familiar items from their more vibrant past.
Heritage
House recognizes the fear and confusion brought on by cognitive disorders.
Heritage Garden was specifically created as a safe and inviting
environment that emphasizes the best parts of a person's remembered past
- especially for those that no longer function effectively in the present.
Links with family, life achievements, past careers, and hobbies are encouraged
and included as part of the daily activities schedule. In developing a
world that caters to their needs, Heritage Garden residents are relieved
of much of the frustration they feel, and are able to operate on a level
structured to fit their individual needs.
Fourteen Studio Apartments all opening onto a "Great Room."
The
Great Room includes living, dining, kitchen and activities areas, as well
as a home style kitchen. A raised clerestory roof allows natural light
to stream into the common areas throughout the day, helping residents
to establish a diurnal sense of day and night.
The indoor
environment is themed to include comfortable furnishings, photos, music,
and visual entertainment evocative of a golden era.
Remembered
tunes match pace with photo collages from Santa Barbara's people and history.
Work-stations are set up that allow residents to work on skills and hobbies
familiar to them. We even have a special kitchen with safety zones, so
that residents can help in making fresh-baked cookies…
Meals
are served throughout the day and are geared to those requiring small
and frequent portions.
We pride ourselves on a varied menu that really is
as good as home-made. Snack times offer finger foods that residents can
manage easily. Since hydration is such an important part of maintaining
one's health, fresh juices, smoothies, and water are offered regularly
by staff.
Outside
there is a way-finding garden and exercise path with numerous stations
for rest and reflection.
Outdoor speakers allow the music to follow
the residents on their walks. A continuous path allows for the outdoors
to become a natural extension of the neighborhood inside. We regularly
replenish flowerbeds so that residents can pick and bring a bouquet into
their rooms.
Our
staff go through extensive training and are rewarded for continuing education
credits in assisted and Alzheimer's Care.
As the field continues to advance in the number
of care options, we seek to create an environment that best serves our
residents. Part of our staff's training is to see the world through the
eyes of someone with similar disabilities. We teach them to assist our
residents in finding solutions to their individual challenges. No two
people are alike. Heritage Garden also boasts a state of the art Emergency
Call System so that all emergencies are addressed immediately.
Our most important resource is our ability to give our residents, and their families the peace of mind that they are well-cared for, and living out a life that addresses their individual skill levels, needs and desires. In removing the more challenging aspects of care-giving for parents with memory disorders, we allow families to focus on the more important, and valued parts of their shared relationship with each other.
