Memory Care Program

According to the Alzheimer's Association, over five million Americans now suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Fortunately, the last 10 years has seen tremendous strides in our understanding of how the brain ages, and why some people have dramatic changes in their ability to act responsibly, take care of themselves and remember things past. We also know how better to help people with Alzheimer's disease and progressive memory impairment. While no one has yet figured out how to cure Alzheimer's disease or even stop its progress, we can slow it down and help individuals with Alzheimer's disease life useful, active lives for a longer time and continue to interact positively with their families. This is the goal of the DayBreak program.

Assessment: Every resident has his or her own individual program. Planning for this program begins before the resident arrives when our team of specialists collects information from the family about the resident's health, skills, and specifically what the resident likes to do and liked to do in the past. Assessment directly with the resident is done gradually and in a non-stressful manner both at home and after the resident arrives. Each plan is reviewed with the family soon after the resident arrives and every three months thereafter unless changes in the resident's behavior warrant immediate discussion.

Safety: Safety is always our first concern. It starts with the design of the building that is secure and free of objects that can cause harm to a resident with impaired judgment. It continues with the special care each resident received from staff who are specifically trained in the care of residents with Alzheimer's disease. Many individuals with Alzheimer's disease become disoriented and some respond to their confusion with inappropriate behaviors. A team of specialists is always available to assist staff when residents act-out so that programs can quickly be modified to reduce inappropriate behaviors.

A Medical Approach: There are many medicines available to help individuals with Alzheimer's disease and new ones are constantly being tested. Medicines seem to help some individuals, but not others. The choice to try medicines remains strictly with the family and family's physician.

A Familiar Place: Individuals with Alzheimer's disease can become confused as to where they are and why they are there. We try as much as possible to make DayBreak a familiar place for our residents. We prefer to furnish each resident's room with things from their own home even though we do have furniture available if necessary. We especially like things made by the resident and things that he or she is attached to including the result of any hobbies they participated in or things they collected. Also, we appreciate photographs of the resident, spouse and family documenting past lives and activities. If requested, we will copy these photographs so that the originals can be safely returned to the family.

Micro-Environments: As Alzheimer's disease progresses, there is a widening gap between the reality the resident is living and the reality of today. They have difficulty understanding why they are here, who these strange people are and why they are asking them to do the things they are asking them to do. So much is unfamiliar to them. They feel they should be someplace else doing something different. The world they remember is a world of many years ago. Not surprisingly, they don't function very well in today's world, but if we can create a world that is more familiar to them, we find that they function much better in it and are happier. Research has shown that the more time they spend in these “micro-environments” that are familiar to them, the slower their disease seems to progress.