Friends for LifeTM
Memory Care in Simpsonville, South Carolina
The Springs boasts a strong local connection to the heart of downtown Simpsonville. Even more important to us, though, is the connection we have with our residents. When we say The Springs is in the heart of it all, we also put our hearts into it all to provide a unique, loving community environment.
Nowhere is that genuine connection more prominent than in our Friends for LifeTM memory care programming.
Our memory care services focus on creating heartfelt connections with our Friends for Life program. Through this program, it is our mission to:
- Nurture all residents as we would our best friends so they can remain fulfilled and successfully active
- Preserve each resident’s personal independence and spirit while being joyful in the moment
Provide meaningful engagement in favorite pastimes and activities - Appreciate all residents’ uniqueness by learning their life stories
Our goal is to have each day filled with meaningful engagement in an environment with a reliable and stimulating daily rhythm.
What makes The Springs’ Friends for LifeTM memory care neighborhood special?
Good friends know one another well. Our first goal with any new resident is to get to know her just as we would get to know a best friend. We want to know what she likes and doesn’t like. We want to know what her younger years were like. We want to know what and who has been important to her over the years—what she values. With this knowledge, we can craft care plans and activities that will resonate with her on a personal level despite the diagnosis of dementia. We can optimize current abilities by connecting with older memories as we become good friends.
Knowing what to expect each day gives us a sense of comfort and security—the same feelings of comfort and familiarity our own homes have provided. This sense of security and comfort is the foundation from which our residents can build personal successes as they participate in favorite activities and pastimes, as they maintain relationships with family members and caregivers, and as they feel personally engaged from moment to moment throughout the day. A predictable rhythm produces a greater sense of peace and well-being.
Cognitive impairments result in many limitations, but those impairments don’t limit a person’s ability to experience joy in each moment. Imagine connecting with your loved one through music he loves or through pictures of family members who were special to him. Imagine sharing his favorite pastimes, watching a sunset together, or walking in our enclosed garden. Your loved one may not remember these activities, but in the moment, he experiences joy, a joy that enhances his quality of life. Good friends who know your loved one’s life story can promote these moments of joy.
In order to understand how best to interact with residents in our Friends for LifeTM neighborhood, our staff undergo special dementia training that includes the Virtual Dementia Tour® developed by Second Wind Dreams as well as training to use prompts and cues that are most effective with dementia patients. Our caregivers are trained to recognize unique challenges that different residents may have and to respond to those challenges effectively. We also provide education to family members and to the community at large through access to the Virtual Dementia Tour®.
The Springs at Simpsonville combines cutting-edge technology with compassionate caregiving as part of our comprehensive Friends for LifeTM program. We’ve selected technology that supports our goal of connecting with individual residents in ways that are most meaningful to each of them and that enhances their care and enriches quality of life.
- CaraSystTM is our proprietary care planning and oversight technology. With CaraSyst, caregiving staff document both routine activities with residents and unexpected needs. Repeated changes in a resident’s needs may raise concerns that our resident care director can address with family members, physicians, and other care partners. Family members have access to CaraSyst information via secure internet portal so they can stay informed.
- SimpleC technology supports maintaining a daily routine and connecting to loved ones. All memory care residents have a touch-screen monitor in their apartments with the SimpleC program that allows messaging from loved ones and plays music and displays photographs that are special to each resident. Messaging can help keep daily routines with reminders that it’s time to wake up or time for lunch.
- It’s Never Too Late (IN2L) programming is also available to residents at The Springs. IN2L simplifies computer use for seniors. The easy-to-use format can provide internet access to news and other interests, residents can play games that keep them engaged, and they can even Skype with family members and friends.
