Aug 31, 2014 5 min read

1 / 4

A secured courtyard at Golden LivingCenter in Franklin Township allows higher functioning Alzheimer's patients to move about freely in an outside environment.

Jon Stevens/Observer-Reporter

2 / 4

Patients in the Alzheimer’s unit at Golden LivingCenter share a room and each is decorated with familiar items brought from their homes by family members.

Jon Stevens/Observer-Reporter

3 / 4

Each of the patient rooms at Golden LivingCenter has large windows that let in bright light and offer patients a view to pleasant and comforting outdoor sites within a confined courtyard.

Jon Stevens/Observer-Reporter

4 / 4

Patients in the higher functioning Alzheimer’s unit at Golden LivingCenter have private dining facilities and access to a kitchen. Ilene Richezza, the Alzheimer’s care director at Golden Living is seated at one of the table where 22 residents of that unit will soon bea rriving for a noon meal.

Jon Stevens/Observer-Reporter

[expand]

close

WAYNESBURG – There’s no place like home, but for those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, remaining at home may no longer be a viable option.

The challenges are great for caregivers, and depending on the severity of the illness and the level of care required, placement in certified nursing homes, many experts agree, is the most loving course of action for the patient.

“Our goal is to make the Alzheimer’s and dementia units as much a home environment as possible so they don’t feel like they are institutionalized,” said Ilene Richezza, Alzheimer’s care director and certified dementia practitioner at Golden LivingCenter, a nursing home in Franklin Township, Greene County. Its mission, Richezza said, is to assure family members that a nursing home placement can be the most loving course.

“We have had residents rebound from what they were doing at home once they get into a routine environment,” Richezza. said. “We have consistent staffing, many of whom have been here since the unit opened. They have seen a lot of different behaviors and actions, so they know from experience how to redirect them if they are having trouble adjusting,” she said.

“Families will come in and say, ‘Wow, she is doing so much better than she was at home,'” Richezza said.

Yet, to remove the patient from the home, a place that may offer the last vestige of familiarity, is often considered cruel by the spouse, sibling or other relatives of the patient.

At Golden Living, however, creating an environment as close to at-home living is paramount.

“Outside each room, a patient can create a picture box that hangs on the wall, and they can decorate their rooms as long as there is no safety hazard,” Richezza said.

The 111-bed facility contains two secure units for those with Alzheimer’s or advanced dementia. One unit is for higher functioning Alzheimer’s patients and can accommodate 22 patients. The other, for patients with advanced dementia, has 18 beds.

“The higher functioning unit is more homelike than the advanced unit,” Richezza said. “They all ambulate and have various activities throughout the day. Having the patients keep the same schedule and routine is important because that seems to work best for them,” she said.

Heather Bendik, marketing director at Golden Living, said patients in the higher functioning unit have their own living room space where they can watch television and listen to music. “They have a private dining room, and they can access a private outside area where there is a garden and benches and chairs for them to relax,” she said.

Golden Living’s Alzheimer’s and dementia patients have been either referred to the facility by family or hospitals, and Richezza will do on-site visits at the home or hospital to evaluate which unit is most appropriate for a particular patient.

“Sadly,” Richezza said, “I don’t keep empty beds very long.”

The Alzheimer’s unit at Golden Living opened in 1998, and administrators and staff soon came to understand how important it was for individuals leaving their homes to have a semblance of that home environment at Golden Living. In addition to picture boxes, patient’s rooms are filled with familiar things, such as blankets, quilts and even pillows used at home.

Windows are large and provide unobstructed views of scenery, such as the gardens and outside courtyards.

The secure units are accessible by entering keypad codes, and once inside, visitors see long hallways that are bright and clean. At the end of the hallway in the higher functioning unit are the kitchen and tables. While no one can use the stove without supervision, the room does offer a comfortable setting for meals.

Bendik explained that when a high functioning patient needs to be moved, layout and floor plans are the same in the advanced unit. “We have the same format, but activities are set up differently. It is the same environment, but the patient is receiving more specialized care,” she said.

Richezza said about 75 percent of the patients in the two units have family members who make regular visits. “They can come at any time; we have no visiting hours, and if the patient is not doing well the family is welcome to be here at any time.”

She said she sees two types of visitors: Those who come faithfully even though their loved one doesn’t recognize them, and those whose visits “tear them apart to see them like that.”

For family members to see a relative in decline is discouraging, Richezza said. “I know it is hard to accept, but that’s the way this disease works.”

Interestingly, she said most of the patients in the units are women. Oftentimes, it is the wife taking care of a husband who is in a more advanced stage. “But it may be harder for the husband to care for his wife,” she said.

Golden Living is the only facility in Greene County with a specific unit devoted to the care of Alzheimer’s patients.

“There needs to be more,” she said.

Asked where would these patients be without a nursing home like Golden Living, Richezza said dolefully, “We would be seeing more people wandering off because they would be at home.”