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excerpted from AARP Bulletin, February 2006: "Assisted Living: 10 Great Ideas" Pets, Putting and Art The Silverado Senior Living Center is home to 90 Alzheimer's residents who can grow flowers in the garden, play with one of the 11 dogs or four cats that sun themselves on the grounds or practice their putting on a golf green with a hole twice the normal size. Because the facility in Escondido, Calif., accepts even those deemed "problems" by other homes, half the residents are men. The home works with doctors from the University of San Diego, and 69 percent of residents who come here on psychotropic drugs are soon able to function without them. Staff members know how to "redirect" the aggression of Alzheimer's patients, steering them to gizmos on the wall with lights, bells and other whirligigs that distract and calm. Residents, who are given a great deal of freedom, take part in daily routines like feeding the pets. They can attend exercise, music and art classes. Men have their own activities—gathering to watch baseball games on TV and enjoy a few beers or hanging out in a room decorated like an old garage where they can sand or paint woodworking projects. The enclosed grounds have extensive paths that meander past rabbit hutches and a playground for staff children. Bath time—often a problem with dementia patients—is a soothing spa experience with Jacuzzi tubs and music. "There is a lot of life here; it doesn't stop because of the disease," says Stephen Winner, a co-founder of Silverado. The center has around-the-clock licensed nursing and even hospice care, so 98 percent of its residents never go to a nursing home. Owner:
Silverado Senior Living |