Memory Care Project

Grace Village Memory Care

Better Living For Seniors With Dementia

Memory Care Environment Project

We are pleased to launch an initiative focusing on a dramatic enhancement to our Memory Care living environment. The goal is to provide a stimulating living space for our seniors with diverse cognitive needs. Building on the foundation of a state-of-the-art facility and our dedicated highly skilled staff who ensure loving, compassionate care, we have the opportunity invest in our Memory Care services to tailor the environment to the unique needs of our residents with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Residents in this level of care require an environment with lots to see, touch, and experience. Using furniture, room structure, and other custom elements, we can provide our Memory Care residents with the familiar feeling of home paired with appropriate levels of sensory stimulation, bright and inviting colour, and features which allow for reminiscing.

Accomplishing the goal of making a difference in the lives of our residents will be enabled through financial donations from those with a passion for enhancing the quality of life of our seniors.

Below are some features to be included in our updated Memory Care environment:

Life Stations

The Life Stations initiative is based on the idea of providing familiar spaces where our residents can interact and reminisce. We will be transforming our current living spaces to include “nooks” such as an office, a nursery, a laundry room, a workshop, a kitchen, and a vanity/dressing area. The spaces will be accessible to all the residents and will be stocked with the familiar items they would recognize in those spaces.

Life Stations are designed to build on the concept of home and residents will be encouraged to take part in familiar – and ultimately comforting and stimulating – tasks like folding laundry, making a meal, washing dishes, changing a baby’s diaper, and more. Life Stations are a proven way to help residents feel a sense of purpose and increase the amount of daily interactions!

Artistically Disguised Doors & Murals

Murals incorporated throughout the wing serve a two-fold purpose. Artistically disguised doors are designed to limit exit-seeking behaviour. Throughout life we develop a natural interest in going in and out of doors, and persons with Dementia do not lose this interest. They may however lack judgement as to what may happen if they enter or exit areas. As such, our Memory Care living unit includes secure doors. Finding a door that will not open can be a source of frustration and anxiety, and our goal is to limit this by avoiding bringing attention to doors, redirecting residents to stimulating common spaces.

Murals on the doors are designed to achieve this goal, per the example shown which is the first one in our Memory Care wing. Other murals throughout the wing will be designed with familiar concepts like nature and will be designed to provide visual stimulation. We will also develop an interactive component to these murals (example: a mural that is designed to look like a window, with built in window boxes and silk flowers that can be arranged and moved throughout the wing).

Furniture

Memory Care presents the unique challenge of finding furniture that is comfortable and homey while being spill resistant, versatile and easy to clean.

We incorporate adapted furniture that contributes to the look and feel of the Memory Care environment, providing cozy relaxation while also being suitable for resident care needs.

Activity Spaces

The Memory Care environment will include designated activity spaces separate from the dining room area. This will facilitate activity programming throughout the day without interrupting the mealtime schedules and spaces. The activity space will include multipurpose tables and shelving which will have multiple level of activity options to reach the various levels of clientele in our Memory Care wing.

The Better Living possibilities are endless, with your help!