Ground broken on memory care expansion at Arlington Place
Managers of an assisted living facility broke ground last week on a $2.2 million expansion, mainly dedicated to memory care.
Arlington Place of Red Oak began a project to build a 10-apartment facility dedicated to those suffering from memory-related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. Also, an additional four assisted living apartments will be added to allow room for more residents.
The project will add to the 24 apartments the facility already has and is slated to be finished in October if weather permits.
The memory care facility will be an all-inclusive living space. Arlington Place will provide a secure living environment with around-the-clock care, medications, shower-assist, housekeeping, laundry, cable television, utilities and more. The facility will also offer activities for residents offered by trained staff members to deal specifically with memory care.
Arlington Place will also be hiring four new staff members to account for the extra residents and necessary 24-hour, seven-day-a-week care.
“The staff will receive all the necessary training in dementia, so they know how to work with and how to guide a resident and get into their time-frame and share that moment with them,” said Di Smith, manager of the Red Oak facility. “We’ll have activities all throughout the day. This is not a unit where they’re going to sit and sleep. We’re really, really proud because we have activities that go all day long, throughout the day.”
The facility will also have a secure area where residents can enjoy the outdoors and a garden in a safe environment.
“And in that garden, I might add, the plants will be edible plants, so that, again, it keeps [residents] safe in case they take them back to their apartments,” Smith said. Senior Housing, a company out of Cedar Rapids, manages Arlington Place along with 15 other facilities in Iowa. Allen Phillips, President of Senior Housing, said memory care areas have been implemented into all facilities because members of the company have passions for helping those with memory-related needs.
“It’s all about creating a moment of joy for them,” Phillips said. “When we think about memory care, we think about redirecting them, because when we go through those doors, we don’t know if we’re going into 1940, 1950 or 1960, so it’s all about having tasks that create those moments of joy.”
Phillips said some activities provided will include housekeeping, such as folding laundry or cleaning dishes for those who grew up caring for families or craftsman exercises like building birdhouses. In other facilities, Phillips said there has been success in discussing old jobs or hobbies with residents’ families to construct an activity program to fit the specific needs of a resident.
“It’s really about life and still doing things every single day and still enjoying them,” Phillips said.
Smith said the goal is to keep residents in the assisted living facility and keep them out of a nursing home. According to Phillips, around 50 percent of the memory care residents come from assisted living apartments.
“Our goal here is to keep the assisted living resident here, so like [Allen] said, the goal is to keep them at Arlington Place, whether it’s in assisted living or it’s in memory care, we don’t want to have to send them to the nursing home,” Smith said. “It’s very, very important to come in, take a tour and get on our waiting list, especially if [people] have a loved one that they’re concerned about. Let’s be proactive and let’s do something in advance.”
Smith said in situations like memory-related illnesses, roles in families reverse and the parents become the children. She said it can be difficult for children to cope with, but that is the reason the new facility is being added. Staff at Arlington Place will also help educate family members on how to deal with memory care for their loved ones.
“There comes a time when the roles reverse and, all of a sudden, mother and dad are their children to take care of,” Smith said. “And that’s our concept, we try to support that family to go through that process.”
Arlington Place’s new memory care addition will offer a safe, stimulating environment for those in need.
“When we talk about memory care, we talk about embracing every moment and creating those moments of joy within those four walls,” Phillips said. “Now what we’re offering the family is a secure and protected area [to bring their loved ones].”