Olmsted Place Memory Support
Our Olmsted Place Memory Support Neighborhood is an active and engaging community providing for the unique needs of individuals with memory loss. Olmsted’s innovative programs are backed by research and specifically designed to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and potentially slow its progression.
The care and compassion with which our residents are treated comes from people who do their work with a sense of calling and deep purpose. We hire staff people that truly become interwoven into the fabric of the neighborhood. With this high standard, the residents of Olmsted Place experience great care and compassion everyday. We work each day to create a neighborhood where people living with memory loss can experience ways to reconnect with a sense of purpose and well being. By keeping minds active we can help people recognize they have special purposes and reduce their experience of stress and failure. Families are helped to find ways to maximize their relationship with the person with memory loss.
GODDARD HOUSE IS PURPLE FLAG ACCREDITED!
Goddard House is proud to have achieved the Purple Flag for Dementia Care™️ Accreditation, which means our community adheres to 60 best practices that focus on providing individualized, person-centered care to residents, maintaining a highly supportive and therapeutic environment, and offering ongoing staff and family education.
Learn more about what this award means for our residents, families, and associates!
Therapeutic Design Features
Design elements can have a huge impact on day-to-day life. With the needs of people living with memory loss and dementia in mind, Olmsted Place was designed to create an easy-to-navigate, warm and welcoming setting for our residents living with memory loss. Specific evidence-based design features include comforting wall colors, strategically-chosen artwork and brightly lit spaces.
A recent renovation and refresh of interiors and furniture in Olmsted Place has created a modern, beautiful neighborhood where our residents experience meaningful programs to fill their days. Common areas such as a living room, country kitchen, and shared fitness studio enhance our neighborhood by encouraging participation and social conversation.
Research also shows the importance of spending time outdoors and connecting with nature. All Olmsted residents have access to our beautiful and secure backyard area with almost two acres of walking paths, patio dining, and our Growing The Farm project with several raised organic vegetable beds and a chicken coop. There’s a reason it is often referred to as “The Best Backyard in Brookline.”
Specialized Programming
Using music or art to enhance their memories, the expressive arts can energize someone with memory loss because it allows the person to succeed at being themselves again. Tapping into one’s own creativity helps people get past the obstacle of “I can’t” reactions that might keep them from trying something new. Creative memory programming are all about opening new doors for our residents to enjoy themselves through the arts.
Sample list of programs:
- Drawing for the Mind
- Matter of Balance
- News of the Day
- Trivia
- Art History
Positive Approach® to Care (PAC)
Teepa Snow is one of the leading educators on dementia and the care that accompanies it, worldwide. As an occupational therapist with forty years of clinical practice, her approach supports and engages people experiencing changes in brain function. As we train our staff and put it into practice at Goddard House, Positive Approach® to Care emphasizes making use of the skills that a person living with dementia retains while providing support, and substituting our skill, for what is no longer available.
Make the Move to Goddard House’s Olmsted Neighborhood
Interested in exploring Olmsted Memory Support services at Goddard House for yourself or a loved one? We are offering safe in-person and virtual tour options for families looking for a more supportive living arrangement. Our Assistant Executive Director, Lance Chapman, can answer any questions you have and walk you through the application process. Call or text us at 617-731-8500.