The number of people with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia is increasing nationwide. A memory care community in Greensboro has made some changes to help meet the growing need for safe and suitable housing in the Triad.
Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. According to the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services North Carolina currently has over 170,000 older adults with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia. By 2030, the total number is projected to rise to over 300,000.
Tom Barbee, Executive Director of the Greensboro Living Center, says finding the right care for these individuals can be challenging.
"It causes a lot of stress. The quandary that a lot of family members find themselves in is they don't know how to handle it. God forbid, if mom should get out of the house or turn on the stove that could have detrimental consequences,” says Barbee.
Barbee says “If we fast forward to the social workers and hospital discharge planners, because of the large number and ever growing population of those with memory challenges it's hard to find beds for them."
Barbee says often times patients have to wait several months for a bed to become available in a community. Most of them open when an existing resident passes away, or moves to a higher level of care.
In 2010, Hickory-based Meridian Senior Care acquired the center. Shortly after, Meridian closed the facility because it was in need of some major repairs and upgrades. The 114 bed center re-opened in December. Barbee says improvements include hardwood floors and courtyards for residents.
"We have these atrium courtyards, in one there is aviary and the other courtyard we are developing a garden where the residents as much as they are cognitively able to will participate in helping to grow vegetables that we actually will eat in the dining hall," says Barbee.
The Greensboro Living Center Memory Care Community at 3004 Dexter Avenue will hold an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony for the public Wednesday, January 30, from 2 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.
For more information call (336) 553-3917.