Glen Mills Senior Living celebrated the grand opening of its Memory Care Unit on Aug. 30. Among those participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, from left, are John Crossan (Concord Township, Town Council); Belinda McQuaide (IntegraCare COO); Larry Rouvelas (IntegraCare CEO), Basirsat Kasali (Nurse Supervisor); Miranda Coulter ( IntegraCare Area GM); Michele Adams, (Glen Mills EOO); and Kevin Cysyk (IntegraCare VP Development & Acquisition).
Memory Care Unit Puts Focus on Glen Mills Senior Living Residents’ LifeStories
GLEN MILLS, Pa. – Dorene Haywood hardly could contain her enthusiasm prior to the grand opening of the new memory care unit at Glen Mills Senior Living on Wednesday.
A Philadelphia native with nearly two decades in senior living and healthcare, Haywood is the new LifeStories Director who will implement IntegraCare’s resident-centered approach to memory care at Glen Mills.
“One of the most exciting things about opening a brand-new memory care unit is we can put our own uniqueness on the approach to memory care,” Haywood said. “Whether it be our life skills stations or our activities, what sets us aside from everyone else is we can be different. We don’t have to be like everyone else.”
IntegraCare, which operates Glen Mills Senior Living and 16 other senior living communities located in three states, brings its LifeStories approach to memory care. LifeStories creates an environment that facilitates a sense of belonging and provides opportunities for meaningful activities that improve the quality of life for residents.
“The IntegraCare model, with LifeStories, makes us different,” said Michele Adams, Executive Operations Officer at Glen Mills Senior Living. “Our activities and life skills stations will be focused on and revolve around the residents who live in the space.”
“If a resident in our memory care unit had been a school teacher, we would have a teaching station for that resident,” Adams said. “If the resident is an artist, then we would have an art station. Someone who had worked in maintenance would be part of a handy man station. It will continually evolve based upon who resides in the community.”
The grand opening event highlighted 17 spacious apartments in the new memory care unit at Glen Mills Senior Living, located at 242 Baltimore Pike. IntegraCare CEO Larry Rouvelas, Adams and Haywood were among the speakers during the celebration, which was open to the public.
“Our LifeStories Neighborhoods are not just about the secure environment, but also the programming, which focuses on our residents and their personal life stories,” said Miranda Coulter, IntegraCare Western Region Director of Operations. “Our resident-to-staff ratio is low, which benefits the residents.”
“These new apartments are beautiful and very spacious,” Coulter added. “We have a beautiful fireplace inside this neighborhood to keep our residents warm and cozy in the winter, as well as a secure patio area so the residents can enjoy the warmer weather outdoors. The neighborhood is beautifully appointed and features interactive art.”
Haywood brings a diverse background to her role as LifeStories Director. She has experience in memory care, skilled nursing, personal care, hospice and has been a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for 18 years and a Medication Technician for the 15 years.
“What makes our memory care unit special is we can create a home-life environment, not a facility-like environment,” Haywood said. “This is the residents’ home. We work here. The residents live here. We want the residents to feel like this is their home. We don’t want it to be set up like ‘institutional-wise.’ We want it to be set up as ‘home-wise.’”
LifeStories also focus on remaining skills and abilities of the residents, and enhances those whenever possible. The team supports positive behaviors and works to reduce the risk of incidents resulting from the challenging behavior caused by dementia.
“We want to have our residents engaged in activities throughout the day,” Haywood said. “We don’t want to plan activities they’re not going to be engaged with. If we know their life stories, we can incorporate it into their activities. They’re able to join and participate in something meaningful to them. For instance, ‘I was a teacher. I was a house wife and I used to bake.’ Why not have a teaching-themed class or a cooking class?”
For more information, contact Dorene Haywood, LifeStories Director, Glen Mills Senior Living, at dhaywood@integracare.com or 610.358.4900.