BEAVER TOWNSHIP, Ohio – The latest offering at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Retirement Services Inc.’s Poland campus is designed to include “the little things that matter.”
The campus’s Memory Care Services floor is set for an open house from 2-6 p.m. Tuesday. It includes 21 rooms inside the larger Shepherd of the Valley main Poland Campus building at 301 W. Western Reserve Road.
“Shortly after we started talking about this project, we quickly developed our own internal motto: ‘It’s the little things that matter,’” said Kelly Stansloski, Poland Campus executive director. “There’s a lot of things that we provide to all of our residents, but to it make safe and provide those sensory stimulations for our residents – it’s just taking the time to notice, once again, all those little things that make a difference in our residents’ lives, as well as our staff on their daily tasks.”
That includes dementia-trained staff, an enclosed patio and garden, electromagnetic locks on doors, cameras, sensory stations, textured walls, murals, dimmer lights, surround sound, colored walls, anti-overflow toilets, outlet covers and sensor faucets, among other amenities.
The different colored walls, which range from pale yellow, blue, pink and green, help residents to find their rooms. Rooms are private and include bathrooms, but common areas fill the floor. One room includes a lifelike baby doll, a crib, chest of drawers and a changing table. Another piece resembles a washing machine without the water or electricity.
A stuffed toy dog and cat interact with barks and pants or purrs and meows when someone pats their head or scratches their ears, simulating the real thing. Another area includes items for gardening.
Boxes hang on the wall outside each room allowing residents to display family photos.
“Those are memory boxes,” explained Amanda Tuscano, a registered nurse and the nursing administrator at the Poland campus. “They help the resident identify their room and they have specific memories, like photos or items or little trinkets that they would have from their past that will help them identify this is my room, and also help the other residents say, ‘Oh, OK, that’s Mary. She likes gardening, or she has a big family.’”
Because dementia may affect a person’s appetite, Shepherd of the Valley serves meals on red and yellow Fiesta Wear.
“Yellow represents happiness, and red stimulates hunger,” Stansloski said.
The floor incorporates technology too. Smart boards allow residents to interact and play games, and a portable interactive projector, called a Tovertafel Pixie, displays images on the wall that residents can manipulate and move with their fingers.
Only six of the devices have been produced, and Shepherd has two.
The full Poland campus offers a care continuum.
“We have 86 independent homes. They’re in the back, our condos,” said Lauren Flauto, director of marketing, sales and communication. “And then we have 21 memory care. We have two floors of 22 rooms per floor, so 44 assisted living and 32 nursing rehab.”
The memory care floor was converted from an assisted living floor. Stansloski said that was a response to need in Mahoning County. Shepherd of the Valley’s Liberty campus also includes memory care.
“We’re trying to meet their needs at all levels,” Stansloski said.
The Poland campus earned a five-star Centers for Medicare and Medicaid rating, one of a handful in Ohio, representatives said.
Pictured at top: From left are Patty Haman, admissions coordinator; LaChae Jackson, director of nursing/assisted living; Amanda Tuscano, nursing administrator; and Kelly Stansloski, executive director.