Day three of touring elder care facilities and it just gets more interesting. Although this is a nursing home the memory care unit was redesigned in the last few years to accommodate dementia residents. The design of the memory care unit is well-planned and comforting and there's plenty of room to roam. It's a long figure eight with curving walls, has two smaller dining rooms, a fireplace, an outdoor deck with plants and little nooks for a few people to sit and chat. The place is laid out like a little village, hence the name. There's a barber shop, an ice cream cart, a "fruit" stand; kind of like being in a very mellow amusement park. The exit door blends in with the walls so the residents don't fixate on it as a way out. There's a plenty of small details like this throughout the unit that make it pretty pleasant for the residents. Another bonus is that there's lots of men at The Village for mom to get her meathooks into.
The Village (walkermethodist.org) is on a campus with other care centers so there's lots of amenities: a gift shop, ice cream carts, a chapel and a coffee shop. There is also large rooftop patio with plantings and a greenhouse which I think is a fantastic idea. Kind of like the VA where Dad was.
Of course, Henry was a big hit. All the residents thought Henry was an excellent choice for a name. After all, it was one of the most popular baby names in 1903. One woman said: "I hope you didn't name him one of those nonsense names. Like my granddaughter named her kid God knows what." With that she rolled her eyes, shook her head in disgust and waited for my reply. Fortunately, the name Henry passed muster.
Another woman tried to sell me a few postage stamps because she needed a dollar. I was unsure whether or not she was a resident because she had an ID tag on and looked like she was dressed for work. Nevertheless, I was impressed by her ingenuity and happily would have obliged her if I had any cash on me. The Admissions Specialist redirected her with the swiftness of a pro so she may be a lifer. I'll never know.
I'm going to hold judgment on The Village until I check out some more places. I'm hitting two care centers tomorrow. Wish me luck and a sense of humor.
