After about a year of work and $200,000 in renovations Sedona Winds Assisted Living in the Village of Oak Creek unveiled a new 20-person “memory support” assisted living area with individual apartments that it is branding as “Elements” on the afternoon of Feb. 12.
“Developed exclusively for SLS Communities by industry experts with over 50 years of combined experience in dementia care, Elements is a unique approach designed to enhance residents’ quality of life through engagement, empowerment, and trusted support,” Sedona Winds spokeswoman Teri Cohen said.
Sedona Winds is part of two companies called the Hampton Group and Senior Living Services, the latter of which was launched in 1998, that were founded “to develop, build, own and manage senior living communities and multi-family housing,” a press release from Sedona Winds stated.
“Sedona Winds has always offered memory support, or memory care is what it used to be called,” SLS digital marketer Joseph Hayes said. “We’ve pretty much renovated all of our memory support communities through all of our [SLS] communities. This was one of the larger renovations, just redoing top to bottom.”
Before moving into Elements, each resident is required to undergo an assessment to create a personalized care plan with four levels of assistance and “memory care” available that can be adjusted to accommodate changing needs. Memory care focuses on early stages of memory loss. For some residents, the staff may simply lay out their clothes and provide a cue to start their morning activities.
The Elements program encourages residents to interact with plants, get their hands in the dirt with gardening and connect with the earth in the outdoor common area. Elements also uses essential oils and aromatherapy in its dining program to stimulate appetite and the senses.
“The reason behind our green color scheme with these rooms is it’s part of Elements as connecting back to nature,” Hayes said. “We’re trying to bring in the environment. We do things with water and sound which we encourage with food as well, also with our quarters, and once the weather turns, we encourage a lot of outdoor [activities].”
Hayes said Elements is currently awaiting the installation of an aromatherapy system. Additional activities offered include arts and crafts, mobility exercises, community outings and sensory-focused one-on-one interactions organized by resident enrichment coordinator Nicole White, certified by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners, who is the chief executive of the program.
“For our meals, we give them a warm towel with lavender or eucalyptus before they eat — not necessarily to wash their hands, but to enhance their sensory experience,” regional director of assisted living Jenelle Johnson said. “Everything on the table has been chosen to help increase appetite. A common challenge for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia is a reduced ability to taste, feel or even recognize hunger, and this small ritual helps engage their senses before a meal.”
Johnson said that all staff working at Elements will be certified through NCCDP, from caregivers to “any servers that work back here.”
Elements charges $5,900 a month, which includes weekly housekeeping, laundry, transportation and social activities, with $3,000 of services included in that cost; the maximum a resident would pay is $6,700 a month if they require advanced care.
“It is unlikely that a resident would experience the additional $800 enhanced care fee in the beginning,” Cohen said. “Any time you care exceeds the $3,000 built-in care, the additional fee [will] be added monthly.”
For more information about Elements, visit sedonawinds.com/al or call (928) 496-654
