Westminster Assisted Living and Memory Care Services

Assisted Living Services

Helping residents remain independent is our number one priority. For example, we might be on “stand-by assist” while a resident is showering, here to help only as necessary. We might accompany a resident to dinner, providing a supportive hand so that they can walk, instead of having to rely on a walker. Many of our residents have Parkinson’s disease and need assistance with their meals. Needless to say, it’s hard to maintain one’s dignity when someone else needs to feed you. So we offer a second seating, allowing them to eat at a time when fewer people may be watching. A simple solution, but so important to those residents who have serious health issues. Our community also has a number of residents with macular degeneration. Our Life Enrichment Director has partnered with the Maryland Association for the Blind, which installed special machines that help magnify reading materials. And we make frequent trips to the library for large print and audio books. Again, we do everything we can to alleviate a disability, so that residents can remain as independent and able to do for themselves as possible. We also have a very active Residents Committee and are extremely responsive to their requests, whether they are looking to initiate a new club or interested in starting a new activity.

Memory Care Services

Our memory care neighborhood includes 14 studio apartments, each with a private bathroom and shower. A new courtyard is under construction, which will enable residents to enjoy the out-of-doors in a safe, secured setting. As an Emeritus community, we follow a unique approach to care called Join Their Journey. The philosophy is simple: We join their journey wherever they are and we encourage family members to do the same. For example, a new resident continually asked for her husband, and whenever her son visited, he would respond by telling her that dad had died. As a result, she became very agitated. By trying to pull residents forward into present-day, it only confuses and upsets them. Panic and fear often set in. Join Their Journey is a way to help keep them feeling safe and secure where they are – even if they’re living in the long-ago past. As part of the program, we offer “life stations” throughout the community, with a variety of items from their past that are familiar and comforting to them. We also develop activities that are appropriate for their specific stage in the disease process. For people with late-stage Alzheimer’s, that activity may be simply massaging their hands with lotion. For higher functioning residents, we may conduct a trivia game to help promote memory. Our environment is also very contained and safe; residents have their own dining room and parlor and are cared for by the same staff members, whose faces they are often able to recognize. Of course, they are also welcome to join any of the special events and entertainment programs we offer our assisted living residents. In fact, we have four ladies who love to join our other residents for Bingo!