|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
|
 |
New
facility in Stone Oak features latest in Alzheimer's care
By
Travis E. Poling San Antonio Express-News August 26, 2003
Stone
Oak is one of the fastest growing centers of wealth in San Antonio, so it
is no wonder that Resources for Senior Living decided to locate one of its
Alzheimer's disease care centers there. The Charlotte, N.C.-based
company opened the $7 million Haven last month as the city's latest
assisted living center for people with Alzheimer's, a disease that's
becoming more common. The disease, marked by
dementia, loss of recent memories and regression to old memories, has
grown dramatically in recent years as people are living longer. Although
Alzheimer's can strike early, it mostly effects the very elderly. Former Merrill Lynch bond
trader Jonathan Howard and real estate developer Lee Lyles gathered the
concepts behind The Haven during more than a year of research. They
assembled the best practices for providing dignity for Alzheimer's
residents while keeping them in a safe and active environment. Howard said he is exploring
locations in Round Rock, an area of growing affluence north of Austin.
Resources for Senior Living targets upscale areas specifically because of
the high cost of Alzheimer's care. Howard entered the nursing home
business in New Jersey in 1989, where he learned how the business is run
— and that a standard nursing home setting is not the best way to care
for those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. In 1995, he formed Resources
for Senior Living and began building Haven facilities in the Carolinas in
1997. The one in San Antonio is the fifth Haven for the firm, and the
companion Laurels assisted living center next door is the third. Memory loss can be devastating
for family members to deal with, but The Haven is designed to help
residents cope with the memories that are coming back to them from their
young adult years back to childhood. A 1940s-styled Main Street runs
in a loop of hallways that open into a beauty shop, an ice cream parlor
and a workshop where men can tinker with safe objects. Main Street also includes a
laundry room where residents can wash with staff supervision if the
routine is what they need. Small, bright birds in an aviary at one end of
the "street" keep some residents enthralled. And a nursery
provides a rocking chair and crib of baby dolls for those whose memories
of motherhood are fresh again. "They need to feel like
they are doing something," said Nancy Rheams, regional program
specialist with the South Central Texas chapter of the Alzheimer's
Association. "People are now understanding how important activities
are." The demand for that type of
care is high, Rheams said. Existing San Antonio Alzheimer's care centers
Arden Courts and Homewood have similar Main Street concepts, she said, and
both care centers stay filled. The Haven is divided into three
units with 16 rooms each. A central kitchen provides food to the formal
dining rooms of each of the areas, dubbed San Antonio, Austin and Houston.
Glen Singer, community
relations director for The Haven, said the staff sits down with the
residents to eat to provide companionship, and families also are welcomed
in for meals. Large screened-in porches open
onto enclosed and landscaped courtyards with a drinking fountain and a
meandering loop of sidewalks to meet the need of many residents to wander
and not feel closed in. There also are play areas for
children so they will view visiting grandparents as a fun day out rather
than feeling trapped with adults for hours. "Memory boxes" hang
outside the doors of each apartment to be decorated by the family with
drawings from children, family pictures or even things relating to a hobby
or interest of the resident. Each door looks like an exterior door
complete with a porch light and a knocker to complete the neighborhood
feeling and further reduce the feel of an institution. Advocates for Alzheimer's
patients, however, say the blessing of innovation in Alzheimer's
residential care is marred by the fact that it is not available to
everyone. The typical cost per month at
The Haven, which is competitive, is about $3,700. That is about the same
cost as staying in a nice hotel, but with the additional services of a
licensed nurse on staff around the clock, three meals a day and assistance
with bathing. Daniel Kuhn, director of
education at the Mather Institute on Aging in Illinois, said the cost of
providing specialty care in a pleasant environment makes it geared toward
the high end, leaving those from poor and even middle income families
without the option of assisted living. Instead, they end up in nursing
homes where there is often little differentiation between the facilities
for very sick nursing home patients and Alzheimer's residents that want to
wander or be involved in more activities. Some nursing homes have tried to
address those needs, but there often are few spots for patients relying on
Medicaid.
Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
|
