BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Correspondent
The Alzheimer's Association says someone in the United States is diagnosed with the disease every 67 seconds.
More than 5 million people are living with some form of dementia - a brain illness that affects memory, thinking, behavior and ability to perform everyday tasks.
Caring for someone with a memory disorder can be a difficult job, but retirement communities across the county have programs in place to help.
"It can be hard on both the resident and the family members," says Marci Hoover, admissions coordinator for skilled nursing for Moravian Manor in Lititz. "When someone enters memory support care, it's such a huge transition for everyone."
To ease that transition, many communities have established specific units designated for memory support residents.
At Moravian Manor, the Herrnhut Community opened in 2002. An additional 16-bed unit opened in 2010.
Herrnhut offers care with the goal of helping residents remain better connected with the world around them, Hoover says.
"We offer church services and other activities, and we have volunteers coming in for one-on-one activities or group activities," she says.
A common dining room provides opportunities for resident interaction in the larger, 36-bed unit, while the smaller unit has a breakfast bar area that provides a feeling of home, she says.
Residents in memory support units thrive on routine, Hoover says, but the staff at Moravian Manor works to create a routine that applies on an individual basis.
"We try to adapt to the residents instead of the residents adapting to us," she says. "If they had a routine of getting up at 9 a.m. before they came here, we'll do that here."
Staff members and an in-house chaplain offer support to families and help residents feel at home, too, she says.
That's part of the program at Willow Valley, where a dementia support group is held the second Wednesday of the month at 2 p.m.
Willow Valley has been offering memory support services since the Glen opened on site in 1995. In 2004, the community created Cedar Brook for memory support care, says Kendall Hunsicker, vice president of health care services.
"Cedar Brook is what we originally called our 'structured living' option," she says. "That name bothered me. It didn't have a homey feel to it and that's something we wanted to emphasis. We pride ourselves on a very homelike environment. It doesn't look clinical."
Cedar Brook will soon be bringing a diner-like aspect of their country kitchens, featured in other parts of Willow Valley, to the facility, in a move designed to create an even cozier atmosphere, says John G. Swanson, Willow Valley Living president.
"These kitchens have been hugely successful in our regular skilled units and we know it will benefit our memory support residents as well," he says.
The idea behind country kitchens is to open up the kitchen, he says.
"Residents can enjoy the smells of cooking, the sounds of cooking," he says. "It's taking food service to a new level and recreating the American diner atmosphere."
With a roll-up counter that's wheelchair accessible, the country kitchen features home cooking and a casual atmosphere, he says, and adds an element of socializing to the dining experience.
"People want to sit together and not eat by themselves," he says. "This has really transformed the dining experience, particularly at breakfast, where historically most residents wanted to eat in their rooms. Now, with the country kitchens, residents are getting up early, getting dressed and getting to the kitchen to get their favorite seat at the counter."
Like Moravian Manor, Cedar Brook offers a variety of activities for residents.
"We try to get residents up and out of their rooms and engaged in something that may trigger some memories," Swanson says.
Hunsicker says the facility assesses residents on their cognitive and physical needs and then uses Therapeutic Engagement Programming to individualize activities to meet specific needs.
"We try to do activities that stimulate the brain," she says.
Activities range from Bible studies to movie discussions to trips to places including Barnstormers games for residents in the personal care unit.
Additionally, Willow Valley residents from other parts of the communities also come in and interact with Cedar Brook residents.
"They are a big support to our program," Swanson says. "They'll play games with residents, do group activities or one-on-one activities."
Like other communities, Willow Valley offers both personal care and skilled care memory support services.
"We have LPNs on every shift of our personal care unit and LPNs and RNs at our skilled care unit," Hunsicker says. "It's significant because not everybody has LPNs on every shift."
At Mennonite Home Communities, Lancaster, staff training is priority, says Nelson Kling, president.
"It takes a special kind of caregiver to understand the nuances of memory support residents," he says.
The staff also works hard to create a home-like environment.
With three areas for memory support, the community opened its most recent, Landis Run, in 2013.
"It's a 15-bed personal care unit that we created based on what we call a 'household model,'" Kling says. "It was developed to give a residential look and feel to it. In the kitchen, you'll see beautiful granite countertops and beautiful wood cabinetry, like you might see in your own home. ... It's very different from what a typical long-term care space would look like."
The residence includes common areas created specifically to promote socializing among residents.
"We have a living room area for watching TV, playing games or other activities," he says.
Like other communities, Landis Run features an enclosed courtyard area, where residents can take walks or sit on benches and just enjoy the outdoors.
Even the courtyard was specifically designed for the unique needs of residents in memory support care, he says.
"It has colored concrete on the path because if we had a regular white concrete sidewalk, our residents would interpret that as ice or a snow-covered walk and they wouldn't come outside, because they're afraid of falling," he says.
The community and staff do everything they can to make residents feel safe and comfortable, he says.
"The more we can create a comfortable environment - with warm colors, the right lighting - it all helps the resident connect on some level and helps them feel like they're at home," he says.
That's been the goal for almost two decades of memory support services at Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community.
The residence maximizes the amount of daylight inside with lots of windows and a unique floor plan, says Robert Hayward Jr., president and chief executive officer.
Quarryville Presbyterian added 24 beds and apartments to its personal care unit and added 14 in its skilled care unit to meet the increasing need for memory support services, he says.
To help both residents and loved ones during visits, rooms have "memory boxes" outside them, Hayward says.
"These are places people can put in pictures of who they were when they had their full cognitive ability and caregivers or visitors can use them as a moment to say, 'remember when...' and possibly spark conversation," he says.
At all memory support facilities, staff members play a major part in helping residents stay safe and comfortable.
Specialized and on-going training is important, says Lynette Trout, president of Oak Leaf Manor.
Trainers at the residence incorporate new and relevant care strategies to maximize each resident's quality of life, she says.
Oak Leaf Manor offers memory support care in Friendship Place, located as a neighborhood within both the Landisville and Millersville sites.
Friendship Place provides residents with the opportunity to have different care level needs met, so residents can receive more assistance as their needs increase, Trout says.
When choosing a facility for memory support, there are several things to consider, says Swanson.
"Spend a little time in the unit observing how the staff interacts with the residents," he advises. "Look at the programming they have in place. Ask, 'Is the resident going to be engaged in different things throughout the day?'"
Hayward says particular attention should be paid to how attentive and caring the staff is.
"We are blessed with caregivers who feel called specifically to serve these residents," he says. "Many of our team members have been part of our family for years."
Memory support residents need to be treated differently than other residents, says Kling.
"A lot of these residents have times when they are anxious or more agitated about everything," he says. "You really need to have good, strong, well-trained staff who can redirect them and get them focused on other things."
Swanson also recommends taking note of the decor of a memory support unit.
"You want a soothing-type atmosphere," he says. "You want as home- like an atmosphere as possible."
Above all, look for a place that you know your loved one will be happy, says Hayward.
"Loss of memory is a sad situation," he says. "Anything you can do to make your loved one as comfortable as possible is important."