WAUSAU — Stone Crest Residence has enhanced its memory care services for members suffering with dementia thanks to a recent anonymous donation given in memory of a recently deceased Stone Crest resident.
Stone Crest removed dated, busy wallpaper and painted the hall walls a calming neutral color. The care facility also:
- Painted each resident door a vibrant color to contrast with the calm, neutral walls. Many dementia patients experience vision changes and have trouble differentiating colors. Changing these door colors helped residents self-direct and identify their rooms better and make them feel more inviting and welcoming.
- Added sensory boards and “busy” boards to the walls in halls. The sensory boards use simple frames and various fabrics, papers, etc. (fuzzy fabric, coarse sand paper, silky/satin fabrics, etc.).
- Transformed living rooms into calming rooms, with soft colors and comfy chairs for viewing TV or even taking a nap.
- Coverted a room into an activity zones. Zones include a workbench area, an office area, a baby care/home area and a dressing table. Memory care residents often revert to past habits and memories and feel they need to get to work or they are late to the office or, for someone who spent his or her life caring for children, they wonder where the baby is or if it’s time to make dinner or do the laundry. Also, staff can easily direct and join the residents within these activity zones and help them prepare a memo or hang the laundry, making programming easier and more natural. In addition, families struggling to connect during a visit can now walk the halls and engage with their loved ones through the sensory/busy boards or join them in the activity zones and start a conversation while folding towels.
The upgrades to memory care services will be introduced formally during an open house from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 7.
For more information, contact Amy Forst, director of operations, at Forest Park Village, 2901 N. Seventh St., Wausau; 715-845-1214, extension 311, or [email protected].
