Wesley Village Breaks New Ground for Kentucky!
(Photo by Jim Gaddis)
Wesley Village adds to its growing list of "firsts for Kentucky" with the start of construction on a new "small home for memory care" especially designed for those with Alzheimer's disease. Studies repeatedly show that persons with memory concerns do much better when living in familiar surroundings of a beautifully furnished home with living room, kitchen, dining room, private bedrooms, private baths and free access to protected outdoor gardens and walkways. Total cost of the project will be $1.7 million. The Village already has raised more than $1 million in donations and pledges.
The concept was first pioneered in 2003 under the name "Green Houses" at a United Methodist retirement community in Tupelo, MS. Dr. Bill Thomas, a well-known geriatrician and nursing home reformer, is credited with the original design. More than 200 small homes are now operating, or are about to open, in 26 states. No more than 10 seniors live in each home. Two certified nursing assistants are always on duty to help with activities of daily living. The services of licensed nurses are also available around the clock. The cost is no greater than fees charged in larger nursing homes.
President/CEO of Wesley Village, Glenda Creech, says that small homes are designed to provide all the functions of a traditional nursing home without the institutional look and feel of a traditional nursing home. "Allowing residents basic choices such as when to get up, what to eat and what to do during the day is key - just as it is in your own home." Such choices are often very limited in traditional nursing home settings.
Plans at the Village call for six more small homes to be built in coming years to serve a wide variety of long term-health care needs. Creech concludes by saying that small homes are definitely the wave of the future. "Those long-term providers who do not keep up with what's best for residents will fall by the wayside." With Kentucky's first small home for long-term health and memory care, Wesley Village is clearly planning to stay one step ahead!
For more information call Wesley Village at 858-3865.