Silverdale, Washington Dementia Care Community

A Wonderful Active Lifestyle

All of our activities are focused on stimulating the senses, which promotes memory recall, as well as helps keep residents functioning mentally as much as possible. For example, we put together “memory boxes” – a toolbox with wood and “tools” for our residents who once loved to work with wood; just the scent and texture of cedar, pine or cherry can bring back past memories of a hobby or profession they once enjoyed doing.

We have a seamstress memory box for our residents who love to sew; of course, all of the tools in our boxes are blunted or capped for safety. We also recently took residents to our local Home Depot, where the general manager graciously set up workstations throughout the store – a gardening station with flower boxes for our ladies to play with soil and plants and a woodworking station for our guys.

In addition, our activities calendar includes many family-oriented events, such as holiday celebrations and special theme meals. This past summer, for instance, our families joined us for a wonderful old-fashioned barbeque held outside in our courtyard.

We have Happy Hour every Friday with mocktails and entertainments, at which time we also celebrate any recent birthdays. And every morning, our residents participate in “Moving in the Morning,” an exercise program designed to help keep their limbs moving, to build strength and to promote hand-eye coordination. Our community is located on a green belt, so those residents who are able join together for a daily walk. Church services are held on Sundays.

Partnering with the Local Neighborhood Community

As partners with the national Alzheimer’s Association, Emeritus at Silverdale is responsible for coordinating its “Memory Walk” here on the peninsula. This non-competitive walk of either 1.2 or 3.2 miles follows a route along the Waterfront Park and through the streets of downtown Silverdale. Our staff also participates in this fund-raiser, the largest of its kind in the nation to raise money for the good works of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Fine Dining

We serve three meals and three snacks a day and always have finger foods available. That’s where our similarity to assisted living communities ends! The dining experience for residents with memory disorders is unique; for example, if we were to use white plates on a white table clothes, residents would not be able to see their food. So everything is served on a colored plate and placed on a different colored tablecloth.

We then serve one course at a time to keep things simple. Silverware and napkins are put down after the resident sits down – again to ensure that they won’t be confused with too much happening at once. As we’ve learned, the less independent people are, the faster they decline. So our staff does a lot of redirecting and cuing, never feeding residents if they can feed themselves.

Seniors with memory disorders tend to walk a lot and forget to eat, which can cause problems with weight loss. To overcome this, our food is high in protein and calories. Everything is made from scratch by our terrific chef, who has been with us for more than 10 years.

Lunchtime, our larger meal, always includes a meat, carbohydrate, vegetable and dessert, and soups, sandwiches and lighter fare are served at dinnertime. There are also many options to make sure our residents feel that they have a choice. Again, we Join Their Journey at mealtime – if a resident says she never had breakfast, but really did, we serve her another breakfast. If the resident wants ice cream for dinner, that’s what he’ll get! We can also accommodate any special dietary needs, including mechanical soft and thickened liquid diets.

Learn about other Washington retirement communities that are part of the Emeritus Senior Living family.