Open House Helps Assisted Living Residents Overcome Fears about Memory Care

There are a lot of reasons memory care neighborhoods are located in separate wings of assisted living communities. It offers more security for those residents with dementia who are likely to wander. It makes it easier for specially-trained staff to offer personalized attention to residents who need it most. And it allows for a physical layout that’s designed specifically to meet the cognitive needs of residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

But, despite the many benefits of separating memory care and assisted living, there is one disadvantage— the residents in each area can become isolated from one another.

“I think residents get comfortable with the area of the community they know and don’t always realize there are other places to explore and other people to meet,” said Katie Schaff Fagan who is the director of Encore, the Birches’ memory care neighborhood.

That’s why Schaff Fagan hosted an open house on June 30 where she invited residents from throughout The Birches and their families to visit Encore and enjoy music, food and the newly-planted sensory garden.

For some Birches residents, this was their first time visiting Encore despite having lived at The Birches for months or even years. Assisted living resident Marlene Taylor, for example, has lived at The Birches for over a year but had never visited Encore.

“It’s my first time, but it’s really nice. I should have come sooner,” said Taylor.

Taylor says one factor that holds residents like her back from visiting Encore is fear. Many older adults (at The Birches and elsewhere) have fears surrounding memory loss and a place like Encore reminds them of those fears.

“Some people talk about it like you go in there, and you’re not going to be able to come out. It’s a fear people have,” said Taylor. “But you have to be part of what you want to be part of, and I want to be part of this party.”

Of course, there are other residents who overcame the fear of visiting Encore long ago after realizing that there are many features in Encore they can benefit from. Birches resident Ralph Pierce, for example, began visiting Encore’s garden last year with his wife Virginia who passed away in 2016.

“My wife used to love to sit out on the front porch in the sun, then we found Encore’s garden last year. She died a couple of months after we figured it out. But she definitely preferred to sit out here,” said Pierce.

After the open house, there will likely be more regular visitors to Encore’s garden. During the event, visitors received tours of the newly-planted sensory garden. This garden is not only beautiful, it’s attention-grabbing. It offers sensory stimulation that keeps residents and other visitors touching, smelling and staring at all the plants around them. The garden is also one of several natural areas at The Birches that helped the community attain certified wildlife habitat status from the National Wildlife Federation this year.

Encore activities assistant Mary Sandoval created the sensory garden with the help of volunteers and residents. The garden includes a variety of sensory-stimulating plants, including sensitive plant (which has leaves that move when you touch them), bee and butterfly attractors, several varieties of scented geranium and strawflower (which feels like straw).

“We wanted plants that you’d want to touch, smell and look at. We wanted a garden experience that incorporates all of the five senses,” said Sandoval.

All in all, Encore’s open house served its purpose. It introduced assisted living residents to Encore and helped them see that it’s a welcoming place that they can (and should) visit often.

“We love having visitors from assisted living. They’re always welcome to join us for activities, entertainment and events, or just to spend some time out in our garden,” said Schaff Fagan. "We enjoy heading over to their neighborhood too. The more we can bring these two neighborhoods together, the better. It’s really this culture of inclusivity that makes The Birches unique.”