At Greenwich Woods Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Greenwich, dancing in the hallways is entirely permitted. So is singing. And banging on drums. And strolling in the garden. And luxuriating in a spa-like bath or savoring a meal.
It”™s all part of the holistic approach that the 217-bed facility is taking to the care of those who live on Redwood ”“ Greenwich Woods”™ 33-bed dementia unit. (The 20-acre campus, off King Street, also includes The Greens at Greenwich, a 28-apartment assisted living residence.)
In March, Shipe Hajdari, Greenwich Woods”™ director of staff development, and Cheryl Doeberl, its director of recreation, attended a week of training at the Alzheimer”™s Association in Woodbury, Conn., to become certified Alzheimer”™s ambassadors. Their goal is to train everyone at Greenwich Woods to become an Alzheimer”™s ambassador and use the latest techniques to enhance the patients”™ quality of life.
“We learned how important color is, how certain colors are calming, how certain scents stimulate the appetite,” Hajdari says.
Greenwich Woods set about overhauling the dementia unit. The grooming suites have been painted sea-foam green and bedecked with beach scenes and wicker to add a resort touch. Personal photographs selected by the residents have sprung up in the hallways, where the scents of soothing lavender waft through. Meals are served on different colored plates to aid with depth perception, while aromas like coffee and basil encourage hearty appetites. Even the pureed offerings ”“ often necessary as swallowing becomes difficult ”“ are getting a makeover.
Given the importance of sunlight, perhaps the best source of vitamin D, to the elderly as well as their affinity for animals, Greenwich Woods is working with the Audubon Society to turn its secure Memory Garden into a bird sanctuary.
So far, the changes ”“ designed to show that even the most daunting of ends can still have its pleasures ”“ are earning plaudits from residents and visitors alike.
As for the staffers, well, Hajdari says, “You may see them dancing in the halls, too.”
