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Alzheimer’s Care: Innovative Design and Program Trends
A highly dramatic illness that is extremely disruptive to the individual and family members, Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia—a group of disorders in which the progressive destruction of brain cells leads to an increasingly severe decline in memory, thinking, and reasoning. Although we have yet to find a cure, there are three FDA-approved medications that temporarily delay continued memory loss. There are also approximately 30 to 40 experimental treatments or preventive strategies in various stages of testing and development at educational institutions, pharmaceutical firms, biotechnology companies, and government-funded centers. Countless commercial, government and academic laboratories are engaged in complex research investigating basic cellular and molecular processes to identify additional therapeutic targets. Woodside Place In the late 1980s, Perkins Eastman worked with Presbyterian SeniorCare, a diversified Pennsylvania based elder care provider organization, to develop a new concept in delivering dementia-specific services. In 1991, this collaboration resulted in the opening of Woodside Place in the Pittsburgh suburb of Oakmont. In 1997, an article in The New Yorker wrote that the project “has been studied by architects and long-term care experts from around the world and Woodside is credited with sparking an entirely new movement in nursing-home design.” A three-year study of Woodside concluded that residents there have a slower rate of deterioration than residents at traditional nursing homes and identified a number of key design criteria. These design ideas, when integrated with programming and operations, dramatically affect residents’ quality of life:
Given the continued evolution of thinking in this field, the environmental setting must allow for flexibility and adaptability to new programming and operational approaches. Plans based on household design concepts have received near-universal acceptance as the desirable configuration for assisted living or nursing home settings (defined as 10-16 residents/rooms in a neighborhood). Designers at Perkins Eastman are also giving increased attention to resident rooms, common areas, activity spaces, dining areas, outdoor areas, family space, employee areas, and the effective use of lighting, colors, materials, furnishings and other design features. To promote appropriate individual and group social, cognitive and physical programming, we are creating more “personcentered” and “activity-intensive” care. There is still some debate as to the necessity of segregating Alzheimer’s residents in latter-stage, skilled-care settings. With the rise in development of more residential facilities with smaller “neighborhoods” and fewer institutional nursing centers that feature greater attention to overall design and accommodations, there may be an opportunity to integrate different populations. Copper Ridge Copper Ridge in Sykesville, Md., located on the campus of Fairhaven Retirement Community that is sponsored by Episcopal Ministries to the Aging (EMA), is often acknowledged as one of the first generation of cutting-edge building programs offering a residential continuum of care for persons with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Copper Ridge opened in 1995 with 60 assisted living units (6 houses of 10 in neighborhoods of 20), 66 skilled beds (18-bed wings), and an adult day care program for 25 participants. Perkins Eastman designed the facility around a residential program whose cluster design supports small-group settings in order to maximize resident dignity and identity with an enhanced quality of care. The designers provided comfortable residential elements such as window seats, country kitchens, residential finishes and a strong connection to outdoor spaces. Perkins Eastman has served as design counsel to EMA for over 10 years and is currently looking at the possibility of expanding the Copper Ridge Institute—an assessment, training and research facility affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center. The goal is to serve the campus and the larger community, which is expected to grow to 800 clients per year. The evolution and development of innovative facilities, programs and operational practices that enhance the delivery of services to Alzheimer’s patients within a variety of settings is likely to continue. Current design trends are evolving while continuing to emphasize smaller “neighborhoods,” strong residential design qualities, connections to the outdoors, and increasing attention to staff and family space needs. “Designing for the Alzheimer’s resident has made Perkins Eastman better planners and architects and has a direct application to the full continuum of care from nursing homes to independent units. About Perkins Eastman Perkins Eastman provides planning, architecture, consulting, and interior design services to many of the leading sponsors of senior housing. We are committed to providing innovative settings for older adults where privacy, dignity and independence are key design considerations. Completed projects have received national recognition for their sensitivity to seniors and for providing affordable and innovative solutions that bridge housing and health care. Our experience includes continuing-care retirement communities, residential-living developments, multigenerational communities, university-sponsored senior housing, wellness and community centers, assisted living residences, skilled and intermediate care nursing homes, personal care homes, residential Alzheimer’s and adult day care facilities, and geriatric ambulatory clinics. For additional information about Perkins Eastman Senior Living, call Lori Miller at (412)894-8341.
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The Alzheimer’s Association reports that 10 percent of the 65-plus population
in the United States has some level of Alzheimer’s. This increases to 50 percent
of Americans who are over 85 years of age. |
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