WHEN CHOOSING MEMORY CARE SERVICES for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or another form of memory loss, family members hope to find a living option that keeps their loved one safe and engaged in a structured, home-like environment.
They also want to know caregivers have the training and expertise to provide the intensive, specialized care that individuals with dementia require, plus assistance with their daily activities and spiritual and emotional needs.
The new memory care facility at The Gardens of St. Francis in Oregon checks all of these boxes and much, much more.
Completed last March just as the coronavirus pandemic began to ramp up and lockdowns were going into effect, the secured memory care campus of The Gardens of St. Francis welcomed its first new residents. The beautifully appointed residences are staffed with a nurse 24/7 and include 19 uniquely designed studio apartments with private baths, all of which are licensed for dual occupancy to accommodate married couples.
Also, in keeping with CHI Living Communities’ deeply rooted Catholic tradition, each residence has been blessed and dedicated to a specific Saint.
States Brandon Webb, Executive Director of The Gardens of St. Francis, “Dual-occupancy residences provide families more options as their loved one’s dementia progresses. Keeping married couples together helps to prevent a lot of confusion and makes the transition to a new living environment much easier.”
In addition to the architecturally distinct living spaces, the new memory care campus features multiple common areas, including three separate living rooms, a music area, a small library, and a large kitchen where chef-prepared meals are cooked, often from scratch, to meet the unique nutrition needs of seniors. Further, meals are enjoyed family-style in the dedicated dining room, enhancing the homelike environment.
Weather permitting, Gardens of St. Francis residents also have access to a secured outdoor garden where they can enjoy nature and taking part in planned activities that support life enrichment.
Webb emphasizes the new memory care campus has a dedicated activities team with extensive dementia-specific training through programs such as Dementia Live ® and Relias.
“Our activities staff creates an individualized life-enrichment program for each resident that involves identifying what they did for a career and any unique interests they might have, and then working these elements into their activity planning,” Webb explains.
Residents’ spiritual needs are given high priority and met by Chaplain Fr. Joe Weigman, who resides on campus, and Donna Willis, Director of Spiritual Care. Mass is currently offered four days per week, and prayer services are available as well. Moreover, the entire staff helps nurture residents in spirit, espousing the philosophy conveyed in the company’s mission: “Making the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable.”
“Further, at The Gardens of St. Francis we utilize five core values as a company—compassion, excellence, inclusion, integrity and collaboration—and we encourage our staff to incorporate these values in all their interactions with residents, families, and one another,” Webb states.
The Gardens of St. Francis is located at 930 S. Wynn Rd. in Oregon, Ohio. For more information on the new memory care campus, please call 419-698-4331.
