Yakima, Washington Senior Living Community

A Wonderful Active Lifestyle

With our full-time Life Enrichment Director, we’re able to offer a wide range of activities to meet the needs of our diverse population of residents, some of whom are independent and still driving, while others are wheelchair-dependent. Our calendar includes daily “sitercize,” bingo, movie nights, weekly entertainment and live music, social hour every afternoon, Wii bowling and fishing tournaments, puzzles and games, and evening card games. Church services and bible studies are also offered weekly, as well as shopping trips once a week and scheduled doctor appointment days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We always take our men on a special Father’s day fishing trip to Clear Lake, and many get together each month for breakfast. Our ladies also enjoy a lunch out to a different restaurant every month. And our entire community loves to participate in Yakima’s many parades.

In addition, we also schedule a major event each month – a luau party, western BBQ, holiday dinners, intimate dinners to which they can invite their spouse – even an Easter egg hunt and petting zoo – to which our families are invited. They are a big part of our community – just as important as our residents!

Our memory care neighborhood is staffed with a part-time Life Enrichment Director, who does a wonderful job planning all kinds of activities designed just for residents with memory impairments. Our LED is supported by a full staff of highly trained memory care specialists, who know how to keep engaged and active throughout the day:

• Our staff turns snack time into “snacktivities” – activities that involve food! Last Easter, they made a barnyard cake for the egg hunt and petting zoo. Last fall, they created a spectacular cake in the shape of a large shoe with a pathway in the background in honor of the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which our community sponsors.
• Chesterley Court also offers “life stations,” with familiar items that residents can interact with – tools for men, a flower pot station for our gardeners, for example.
• Other activities are designed to encourage memories – asking residents to reminisce about their past or discuss a specific topic of interest or current event, for instance, while others are structured around promoting physical activity – beach ball toss, parachute games and a morning exercise program.
• We also have volunteers who put on musical programs for both our memory care and assisted living residents.

Partnering with the Local Neighborhood Community

Emeritus at Chesterley Meadows offers a monthly Alzheimer’s support group designed to provide education about the disease process and help participants learn coping skills and how to handle difficult behaviors. Family members and the community-at-large are invited to attend. Our staff and many family members also participate in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which raises money for the Alzheimer’s Association. In addition, each year we host a lunch for a local group who works with seniors. Volunteers, including students from a local Christian school, also visit our community to read with residents and play bingo. Groups from other schools also come in and sing to residents upon occasion.

Fine Dining

Residents receive three meals a day, served restaurant style. We always offer two entrée choices and an “always available” menu with green salads, sandwiches, fruit and cottage cheese. We’ve been told many times that our food is “delicious!” Our goal is not only to offer food that tastes great, but is well balanced and nutritious.

Every afternoon, we serve snacks during our social hour, which could include root beer floats, popcorn or specialty deserts. And once a month, we have a dessert birthday party for all of the residents who share a birthday that month. And each month, our wonderful chef will prepare a special entrée or dessert using a resident’s treasured family recipe. We can also accommodate some special dietary needs, including controlled carbohydrates for our residents with diabetes.

Our memory care residents are served the same menu in their own dining room. Weight is a big issue, especially since residents tend to wander a lot. So we do everything we can, including offering mechanical soft diets, to ensure residents are able to eat. We can even feed residents as necessary. And of course, all kinds of interesting snacks are available – and snack time is just about always activity time! Our goal is to make snack and mealtimes a fun and interesting experience so that residents are continually encouraged to eat.