Silverdale, Washington Memory Care Services

Alzheimer's and Dementia Care Services

Our community offers an innovative memory care program, Join Their Journey®, for seniors affected by Alzheimer's or dementia. Because your family's experience will be unlike any other, our goal is to get to know you and your loved one, so that we can offer support and solutions for your individual situation, in our secured memory unit. We "join the journey" of your loved one by recognizing individuality, encouraging choices and allowing residents the dignity to live in a safe, personalized and familiar setting that feels comfortable for them.

Community Amenities

One of our key strengths is the Emeritus Join Their Journey program, which is designed to bring our staff into the lives of our residents – we go wherever they are at the time. People with memory disorders don’t recognize themselves in the mirror; in their minds they might be 20 years old at 11 a.m., then 40 years old an hour later. They can get frustrated easily and struggle with simple tasks that they have forgotten how to do.

A key part of being able to step into their shoes and join their reality is getting to know their life story. Who were they before they became ill? What were their interests? What were their favorite foods? Did they shower in the morning or evening? Do they like to sleep late or get up early? Only by working closely with their family to learn their life stories can we communicate in a meaningful productive way that is supportive – never combative, never disrespectful and never enabling. If a resident wants help feeding her puppy, we might say the puppy is sleeping.

We’ll never try to convince the resident that they don’t have a dog. If a resident can dress himself with some cuing from us, we don’t take over and do it for them, even if it seems easier. By knowing our residents well, we’re able to recognize why they may be becoming agitated – and head off any problems.

Join Their Journey also focuses on creating activities that stimulate the senses and promote memory recall. That’s why you’ll see “memory boxes” located throughout our community.

A Christmas basket with pine cones, colored bulbs and decorations will give us a chance to ask residents to reminisce about their favorite past holidays. Our new “nursery,” which is furnished with baby dolls and clothes, crib, stroller and high chair, is extremely therapeutic – even for our male residents. In their minds, they may believe they still have young children in diapers. Holding a baby doll in their arms is very calming. As always, everything we do enables us to join their journey wherever they are in life.