From the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities Association:
Assisted living is a special combination of housing and personalized support services designed to meet the needs - both scheduled and unscheduled-of those who require help with activities of daily living (A.D.L.s). Activities of daily living include tasks related to bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, and other similar personal care needs.
Assisted living is a residential option that promotes self-direction and participation in decisions regarding care and services. As a model of supportive housing, assisted living emphasizes independence, individuality, privacy, dignity, and choice. The assisted living package of services can be tailored to meet consumer needs and preferences.
From Ken Yarvitz, Food Service Director:
The dining service department provides three meals to our residents every day, seven days a week in our dining areas. We feature a restaurant style menu, which changes seasonally and is adjusted during the course of the year to allow for resident suggestions.
From Rita Busick, RN, Resident Care Manager, Olmsted program:
We use a combination of the Best Friends (www.bestfriendsapproach.com) and Habilitation Therapy models to empathize and understand the experience of Alzheimer’s disease. At Goddard House in Brookline, we focus on each individual’s strengths and abilities. We learn each person’s life story and listen to individual needs and preferences. We apply the lessons of friendship to compassionately offer a sense of community, comfort, and security.
Before a resident moves to the Olmsted program, a full assessment of the person’s cognitive state, mood, physical capacities, and spiritual history is completed and developed into a care plan. The staff in each Olmsted neighborhood welcomes the resident and family and they become part of our community.
From Kim Ollerhead, LPN, Resident Care Director:
Residents can keep their own doctor or have the option to select one of two medical practices where doctors and nurse practitioners regularly see residents onsite at Goddard House in Brookline. These practices are affiliated with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.
We also have a podiatrist, optometrist, and dentist who make house calls to our residents.
From Nancy Shapiro, Executive Director:
Assisted Living is predominantly paid for under a rental model rather than a “buy in” or purchase model, and is usually paid for with a resident’s funds.
We are also fortunate to offer 17 of our apartments to residents under a number of affordable programs. Our affordable programs are primarily used by residents who have lived at Goddard House for several years by paying privately. These programs allow for residents to stay at Goddard House even if their assets have been used/depleted. When a resident transitions into an affordable program, there is no need to move to a different apartment.
Goddard House in Brookline offers:
• 3 delicious meals daily, served in our lovely dining room
• In the traditional assisted living program, 1-hour per day of assistance with daily living care such as medication reminders or assistance with bathing or dressing. We provide unlimited assistance with activities of daily living in our Olmsted memory impairment program.
• Daily activities and programs including concerts, discussions, classes in cooking, art, crafts and exercise. Residents can lead events and suggest new activities.
• Trips to local shops, restaurants, museums, historic sites, and outdoor destinations such as the Arnold Arboretum, and scenic oceanside locations. Residents have the opportunity to suggest destinations and initiate programs.
• Weekly housekeeping in resident apartments
Goddard House personal care attendants are available to provide additional personal care. Please contact us for pricing information. When a resident can benefit from supplemental care in more than hour long blocks of time, a private caregiver is the best option. There are a number of home health care agencies with licensed employees and supervisory staff that provide these services.
Every assisted living community is unique. We are sponsored by Goddard House, a not- for-profit organization with a history of over 160 years of serving elders in Massachusetts. Our location is extraordinary, accessible to the Frederick Law Olmstead Emerald Necklace park system and just down the road from the Boston medical district (one of the finest in the country). Also important to our residents and their families is that Goddard House offers a continuum of care. Goddard House Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica Plain offers short term rehabilitation, long term care options, and it’s own Olmsted dementia care program.
