To address the overwhelming needs of community members that are suffering from difficult care problems and complex secondary symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, Our Lady of Consolation developed a Special Care Dementia unit that follows a psychosocial model for caring of the residents. It is a forty bed secured unit, consisting of private and semi-private rooms. All rooms are furnished with dressers, end tables, electric hospital beds and bathrooms. There are three shower rooms on the unit for the residents’ convenience. Televisions and telephones are also available if family members and/or residents prefer.

The physical environment of the unit has been modified to create a comfortable, less clinical atmosphere. The residents’ rooms have a picture of the resident outside the door. This helps the resident locate their room without having to know their number. The corridor hallways have been painted in two different colors and with murals to depict neighborhood streets, complete with trees, flowers, lampposts, wrought iron fences, and street signs: Main Street and Elm Street.

The names of the streets were specifically chosen because people suffering from Dementia have difficulty retaining new information and language skills, the names of the street have no more than four letters. Most of the residents are able to read the signs, promoting a positive self and experience. In addition, the names of the streets: Main Street and Elm Street, are familiar to most people, which creates a more comfortable, less frightening environment.

The Day Room/Dining room, is painted with a very tranquil park scene mural. This room is used for dining, as well as, large Therapeutic Activities. Curtains, park benches, a kitchen table and chairs, and a mural of a kitchen cabinet; Aid to enhance a homey, familiar touch to dining and recreation. There is an activity schedule in the day room, in addition to an orientation board, so residents and their families can see or ask questions regarding what an when the next activity will begin.

The unit is also equipped with an active lounge and a quiet lounge. Smaller group activities are held in the active lounge daily. The quiet lounge is used for residents who do not feel they are able to participate in group activities, and want/ need to have one on one activities or interventions to support or re-direct behavior. Families who visit their resident, can choose to visit in the quiet lounge if they do not want to participate with the resident in activities.

The goal of the Special Care Dementia unit is to maintain the resident’s present level of functioning through cognitive, physical, and social stimulation; in hopes of having a fuller, more independent quality of life. Each resident’s cognitive abilities, functional status, and Activities of Daily Living are monitored monthly for the first 90 days, then on a quarterly basis. The resident’s cognitive abilities are monitored through a Mini Mental Status Exam; Functional status is calculated through daily statistic of participation in Therapeutic Recreational Programs; ADL maintenance of each resident is assessed, using a “24 Hour Summary Sheet”, that measures the person’s ability to: toilet, transfer, eat, and ambulate.

The staff was selected and trained specifically for this unit. The Long Island Alzheimer’s Association, along with other in-services specific to the Dementia population was given before the unit opened. The emphasis on a  “Team” approach is stressed throughout the unit. “Together, everyone achieves more”, is working well on the unit. All Housekeeping staff, Recreational Therapists, Nurses, and the Social Worker have experience working with Dementia.

Family involvement is very important to the success of this unit. Because the residents recall their past more readily then the present, their family members provide the resident with a sense of self or being. Families are invited to participate in any or all programs on or off the unit. A newsletter is provided for the families of the unit in the Winter and in the Spring. This keeps the families in formed of the happenings on the unit.

An Alzheimer’s /Dementia Family Support Group, which is open to all families that have a loved one who suffering Dementia, both, at Our Lady of Consolation and for the community, is held the last Wednesday of every month from 7 pm-8:30 pm. This gives the families an opportunity to learn about Alzheimer’s Disease and other related dementia diseases and gives the families a chance to share feelings regarding placement and guilt. The Support Group is registered with Long Island Alzheimer’s Association, and the Geriatric Assessment Program of Catholic Health Services.