What Is Life Like at A Memory Care Community?

Our memory care communities are designed to provide seniors living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia with a secure place where they can work on maintaining their current skills under the care of great staff. They can decorate their apartment with the furniture, photographs and belongings they love most, gather with friends for resident socials, barbecues and games and enjoy some seriously good food.

It can be challenging thinking about moving someone you love to memory care. Just know you aren’t alone. Many caregivers wrestle with these feelings. The good news is that many of them feel an overwhelming sense of peace after they see a family member thriving in a community because they feel a sense of belonging and purpose.

You Can Feel Right at Home

Our communities offer a variety of senior apartment floor plans so you can choose the one that's right for your family member. Perhaps your dad would prefer to be in a private suite where he can enjoy the early morning peace and quiet. Or maybe a friendship suite, which offers companionship and social interaction, would be a better fit for his personality. You can also decorate the apartment with favorite family photographs, that well-loved armchair and flowers that remind your mom or dad of their love for gardening.

On the wall outside of every apartment is a shadow box that can be filled with items to create a small “biography” for your loved one. The shadow box is a guide to the resident’s history, accomplishments, and past interests. It’s also a tool for the memory care team to get to know your loved one, and a personalized, visual identifier to help residents instantly recognize their room.

You Can Feel Right at Home

You Can Enjoy Quality Care

With the language losses that come with dementia, it can be hard for our residents to express distress in conventional ways. Our staff is committed to resolving, and often preventing, these expressions using proactive, non-pharmacological, person-centered approaches. We’ve developed a comprehensive problem-solving process that includes an entire team dedicated to uncovering the root of the behavioral issue. Sometimes addressing really basic issues, like pain, hunger or thirst, or even an environment that’s too hot or too cold, will resolve problems without the need to resort to medication.

And because we offer specific programming that helps meet the unique needs of early, middle and late stages of Alzheimer’s and other dementia, in many cases, this allows our team to keep our residents engaged with purpose and sense of self throughout the progression of the disease, often without having to move to a new location.

You Can Enjoy Quality Care

You Can Enjoy Activities for the Mind, Body, and Soul

Even though your family member is living with dementia, they still have their own unique interests, likes and dislikes. We make a point to incorporate those individual interests, passions and hobbies into our Clare Bridge daily path of programs. We find this daily routine gives your loved one a sense of security that they are right where they need to be.

The Clare Bridge Daily Path of programs is an individualized, gently structured organization to the day that is designed to meet the specific needs of each resident. With programming seven days a week and a minimum of six group programs per day, these activities help residents maintain their current abilities and encourage them to use their remaining skills. The programs can include smaller clustered group experiences and can be based on each resident’s individual and unique history, past interests, passions and involvement. By honoring past interests and involvements, these programs tap into current skills and support meaningful experiences.

Activities are designed to tackle all aspects of health, including physical, mental and spiritual. Activities can be anything from fitness classes and music performances to resident socials. Residents can also interact with innovative technology like touch screen computing, light therapy, robotic companion pets, and more.

_{*2011 study published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health}

Did You Know?

Social connections can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, boost the immune system and even decrease the risk of dementia in older adults.*

I am extremely happy with the care my loved one is receiving at Brookdale. The Clare Bridge program has engaged my loved one in group activities that enrich her life, and she truly loves participating in group activities. The nursing staff is also exceptional and keeps me informed on how my loved one is doing. The staff has cared for my loved one better than I could myself."

Kelly, loved one of a Brookdale resident

You Can Eat Healthy, Well-Balanced Meals

Over the course of the last several decades, we’ve discovered a few notable ways to nurture our residents’ strengths through our award-winning Clare Bridge dining program. Because our communities provide dementia-friendly menus, familiar selections, and easy-to-manage choices, your loved one can feel empowered to maintain their independence for as long as possible.

A few of the other ways we try to help our residents make the most of their experiences around the table include:

Supporting their interest in food by enhancing the dining experience with music, beautiful centerpieces, warm and scented hand towels and fresh linens
Providing dining assistance for anyone who could use a little extra help at meal times
Keeping our dining rooms small and seating consistent so residents can enjoy their meals without stress or confusion
Offering menu choices that honor each resident’s preferences and tastes while still meeting their weight and nutrition goals

_{*2012 study published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health}

Did You Know?

Being underweight has serious health consequences for a senior, which is why proper nutrition is crucial to overall health and wellness.*

A Day in the Life of a Dementia Care Resident

On any given day, you may find our residents enjoying everything from puzzles and games to live musical performances and excursions to local parks and restaurants. We have a long list of activities and events, and each one is designed to help the seniors who call this place home maintain their current skills, improve their cognitive functions and live their best life.

Want to know more? Here’s what a day in the life might look like for your loved one if they lived in one of our dementia care communities.

Morning

Depending on where your loved one is on their journey, they may start their day with a delicious breakfast in the dining room with their friends before participating in one of our signature B-Fit classes with their neighbors. From there, they may choose to play games like corn hole or bean bag toss, work on a puzzle or join their fellow residents for an educational session on current events.

Morning

Afternoon

When it’s time for lunch, your loved one will join their friends and neighbors in the dining room for a nutritious and flavorful meal. To prevent unnecessary stress or confusion, everyone has their own assigned seat and access to dementia-friendly menus. After a filling meal, your loved one will be able to join in on art projects, crafts and group projects. They might participate in a cooking class one day and a painting class the next. Most afternoons wrap up with delicious refreshments and musical entertainment.

Afternoon

Evening

When dinner time rolls around, your family member will have their choice of menu options. If they need a little extra help with eating, a member of our staff is always ready to lend a hand. Once they are finished with their meal and ready for something new, your loved one might want to watch their favorite classic movie, reminisce with their friends about the old days or participate in a reading group session before getting ready for bed.

What Is Life Like at A Memory Care Community?

You Can Feel Right at Home

You Can Feel Right at Home

You Can Enjoy Quality Care

You Can Enjoy Quality Care

You Can Enjoy Activities for the Mind, Body, and Soul

You Can Eat Healthy, Well-Balanced Meals

A Day in the Life of a Dementia Care Resident

Morning

Morning

Afternoon

Afternoon

Evening

Evening

Want info about pricing?

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