Helping Patients and Families Cope with Change
If you are in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s or you have a loved one with Alzheimer’s, it can be very easy to feel alone. Every patient experiences the disease in a unique way, and every family is impacted in its own fashion, so that you might feel like no one can understand your unique struggle. In some ways you are right; your struggle is unique and, because no people are exactly alike, no one’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease will be exactly like someone else’s experience with the disease. On the other hand, people are capable of empathy and sympathy, even when they have not faced the exact same scenario. Instead, by sharing similar experiences and stories, families and patients often find the support and encouragement they need to face this scary, dreadful disease.
Chelsea Senior Living offers support for patients.
Not every Alzheimer’s or dementia patient is in the same stage of the disease, and, in fact, a patient’s condition can literally change from day-to-day. This means that caregivers in a memory impairment unit need to be flexible and responsive to resident needs, rather than rigidly adhering to protocols that might not apply to every resident or that might be applicable to a resident one day, but not the next. That is why Chelsea Senior Living’s memory impairment units, like its Country Cottage at the Warren, New Jersey facility, use a multi-disciplinary team to assess and respond to patient needs. These teams work with the specially trained therapeutic recreation staff to ensure that residents are receiving the stimulation that they need, while simultaneously ensuring that residents are not overwhelmed.
Chelsea Senior Living’s memory impairment units are physically designed to promote safety and security while also feeling free and open.
Safety and security are primary concerns in memory impairment units because of the very real danger that residents will become lost or inadvertently put themselves in harmful scenarios. It can be difficult to enact adequate safety and security measures without creating a physical atmosphere that feels restrictive or punitive. No one wants to live in a facility that feels like a jail, but people also do not want to sacrifice real safety for the illusion of freedom. At Chelsea Senior Living, our dedicated memory impairment areas are safe and secure, but they are also beautifully appointed areas that look like homes, and have access to secure outdoor areas, so that residents never feel trapped or isolated.
The best way to understand how Chelsea Senior Living offers a unique approach to memory care is to visit one of our facilities and see the difference.
