Innovation: Dementia-friendly nursing home

USA

AAI Domains:

• Independent, healthy and secure living (mental well-being, physical safety)

• Participation in society (voluntary activity)

Active ageing applies to people of all ages so that they fulfil their maximum potential and enjoy the best possible quality of life. The increasing number of older people living with dementia is a recognised global health challenge that requires a range of innovative solutions if people affected by dementia, their families and their paid and unpaid carers are all to actively age. The built environment is one area of innovation that has the potential to provide a suitably stimulating, safe and comfortable place for people living with dementia to enjoy the final phase of their life.

Western Home Communities (WHC) is a not-for-profit social care provider in the town of Cedar Falls (population c.40,000 people) in the mid-Western state of Iowa. WHC was founded in 1912 as the Western Old People’s Home, a ministry of the Evangelical Association, and over the last 30 years has expanded and innovated to meet the needs of older people. In 1989 it opened one of Iowa’s first independent living communities and this was so successful that further similar developments followed in the early 1990s as older people, defined as being aged 55 years and over, wanted to live in such an age-friendly environment.

Further relatively small scale independent and assisted living facilities followed enabling growth and an innovative partnership with AHTS Architects and Orfield Laboratories, a world leading research centre famous for having the quietest room in the world, to develop a small scale facility for people living with dementia. The result was The Cottages, two small nursing homes for 32 residents with dementia designed to develop perceptual and cognitive standards for the design of living environments. The residents decide how their daily life unfolds within the framework of a household model of care.

The homes opened in June 2015 and provide people with living with dementia a state of the art living environment and a place where further refinements can be tested and developed. The work was acknowledged with the Dementia Design Innovation of the Year Award and the International Dementia Conference held in the UK in November 2016. In common with many social care providers, WHC provides opportunities for voluntary activity through their FRIENDS programme.

F = Friendship

R = Rewarding

I = Inspiring

E = Extending

N = Network

D = Delivering

S = Satisfying

In relation to the active ageing index, the new nursing home provides a safe and stimulating environment for people living with dementia. The environment is designed to enhance the mental well-being of residents through the living space and services that are provided. The Western Home Communities provides and relies on voluntary activities to provide additional services to residents that are likely to be beneficial to all concerned.

Websites

Western Home Communities

Global Ageing

Orfield Labs