Memory Care Ribbon Cutting
MEMORY CARE RESIDENCE RIBBON CUTTING
YORK — A ribbon cutting ceremony and open house celebrating the completion of a memory care residence was held Tuesday, Dec. 29 at Normandie Ridge Senior Living Community, 1700 Normandie Drive, West Manchester Township.
The ceremony marked the completed construction of the 11,000-square-foot memory care residence by Stewart & Tate Construction and designed by RLPS Architects and Larson Design Group. The state-of-the-art facility offers 16 residential rooms designed to promote safe and abundant living of current and future Normandie Ridge residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
“I’m thrilled with the space and proud of the programming we will offer here,” said Shaun Smith, chief executive officer of Albright Care Services, the parent organization of Normandie Ridge. “We will be offering care the way it should be offered—taking all aspects of living into consideration.”
The building and therapeutic engagement program are holistic. Environment, lighting and furnishings were designed with memory care residents’ particular needs in mind. Details such as gliding pocket doors and European curbless showers offer safe and easy access in bathrooms, while a stone fireplace and enclosed patio and garden make the space inviting and homelike. Paint colors have been used as identifiers to aid navigation throughout the space.
Kaleidoscope, the therapeutic engagement program, encompasses all aspects of life. Each resident will be assessed daily in order to develop a comprehensive care plan that addresses each individual’s needs and capabilities. Sodexo’s personalized approach to dining will include flexible dining hours and a variety of food options. Functional Pathways will provide physical, occupational and speech therapists to assist residents in maintaining their highest level of function, and a spa will offer relaxation. Worship services will include bulletins that use colors, shapes and numbers to help residents identify parts of the service.
“Colors, shapes and numbers are some of the first things that we learn, and are typically the last area of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” said Rev. David Brinker, chaplain at Normandie Ridge. “In our training with Good News Consulting, a team of experts in memory care, I learned that using these strategies helps residents rely on familiar concepts to assist in navigating through the worship service.”
Generation Connect, a technology training company specializing in teaching staff to educate seniors, is creating meaningful interactions on Apple iPads designed to slow the stages of memory loss.
“These iPad interactions were designed to target areas of the brain—such as spatial awareness—that are not yet affected by the disease, helping residents with awareness and reducing memory decline,” said Michael Potteiger, founder of Generation Connect, as he physically moved colorful geometrical shapes into place on the table in front of an iPad on a stand, recreating a cat made of identical shapes on the iPad’s screen. The screen’s shapes lit up with each shape he correctly positioned.
“Games are just one tool we use on the iPads—others include stories recorded by family members and illustrated by photos, coloring pictures on the screen, and music. Each individual normally has a favorite type of interaction that they find therapeutic and select each time.”
The memory care residence will accept its first residents this month. Learn more information, make a donation or plan a visit at https://normandieridge.org/our-