Environments for Aging - Fall 2017 - 25

An additional push came from the memory care solutions
being brought to the table at the time-also small in scale and
residential in nature. "We kept looking at the fact that if this
model is good for a resident who is cognitively challenged, why
wouldn't it also be good for those who are dealing with more of
a healthcare issue?" says Mitch Elliott, senior partner at RDG
Planning & Design (Omaha, Neb.), on his early days working with
owner/operator Vetter Health Services.
As this shift in mindset emerged, it came with some pushback
on code officials by groups like SAGE (Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments). Cinelli says members
challenged regulators to consider departures from requirements
that were far more aligned with medical environments than residential ones, asking questions such as whether a nurses' station
was really needed. It was the start of the deinstitutionalization of
senior living. "We were, as a field, moving away from institutionally designed settings, but on the whole, we hadn't defined what
we were moving to," says Margaret Calkins, one of the founding
members of SAGE and current executive director of The MayerRothschild Foundation (Kirtland, Ohio).
While aesthetics were evolving and residential approaches

were being introduced, under the surface, communities were still
largely based on staff-centric operational models, which limited
the effect of progress-still an underlying challenge today. "I
think in the past 20 years that's beginning to change. It's not
widespread, but it's beginning to change," Calkins says.

Submitted by The Troyer Group
The first component of Holy Cross
Village, a community for the
Brothers of Holy Cross at Notre
Dame, the assisted living project
offers private rooms with sleeping,
living, and bath areas. The
community was organized using a
neighborhood model, with common
areas adjacent to living spaces.

Submitted by Zimmerman Welschmeyer
Architects With a goal of serving the urgent
needs of aging elders with an affordable
option, this assisted living community relies
on a small scale, with the building nestled
into its site to create a series of courtyards
and gardens and designed to feel more like
an inn than a medical facility. Private studio
units feature mini kitchens and spacious
toilets to achieve maximum efficiency.

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KITCHEN ON PAGE
21]]

2000

2001

Notre Dame, Ind.

Milwaukee

Helen D.
Schubert Villa

The Harbour
House

Supporting the model
The solution is person-centered care, and to identify how
to achieve it, owners found themselves looking inward. "We
realized we were providing really good medical care and very
traditionally oriented care, but we weren't creating an environment where people could live rich, full, meaningful lives, even
though they need some assistance and care during the day,"
says Steve Lindsey, CEO of Garden Spot Communities in New
Holland, Pa. "That drove the journey of discovery around what
kind of environment did we need to create to facilitate a life for
the people who lived there that would be enriching, rewarding,
and purposeful."
Part of this process included a new effort to listen to those
who knew best. For the first time, resident focus groups were
more commonly held ahead of design projects, facilitating

2002
Elders Inn

Alameda, Calif.

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EXTERIOR,
BOTTOM PAGE
100]]

2003

Carleton-Willard
Village Nursing &
Retirement Center
Bedford, Mass.

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LIVING SPACE, TOP
PAGE 57]]

Submitted by KM Development
Corp. This new assisted living
community for residents with
Alzheimer's disease and other forms
of dementia uses a household model
of care, each with a foyer, living room,
and country kitchen. Textures, colors,
and millwork were used to distinguish
and personalize the individual
households for residents.

Submitted by Tsomides
Associates Architects Planners
The revitalization project
transformed a 120-bed skilled
nursing facility to house a 30-bed
Alzheimer's special care unit,
36-bed rehabilitation unit, and
34-bed chronic care unit.
Alzheimer's care spaces include
access to sensory gardens.

Fall 2017 * EFAmagazine.com

http://www.EFAmagazine.com

Environments for Aging - Fall 2017

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