At The Osborn
Wish Lists Become Reality
When you invite people living with dementia
to name their aspirations, they don’t say, “I
want a secure place where you prevent me
from wandering.” Instead they say, “I want a
place where I can be me. I want to be in a space
where I am with people, nature, God, my music.
I want to have meaning and purpose, a sense of
security and joy.”
Matt Anderson, president and CEO at The
Osborn, has turned those wishes into reality.
The Osborn now has a space that minimizes
fear, anxiety, sadness and loneliness – making
room for love, connection, value and worth
for the memory care patients who live there.
Anderson reminded attendees of Innovative
Memory Care Programs and Services,
“You can build a beautiful space but it’s the
staff who make it a home.”
The Osborne uses a universal worker approach
to staffing the memory care unit. Many staff
were eager to participate and only one worker
out of 20 has left since the unit opened three
years ago.
Accessibility to the outside is more than just
a door. In the case of the Osborne, the design
incorporated access to a garden and fountain
outdoors and surrounded the indoor living
space with a glass atrium where staff can
watch residents who spent most of their time
in the living spaces or outside, much like in a
normal home.
Michael J. Smith, president & CEO of the
Alzheimer’s Resource Center of Connecticut
(ARCC) asked attendees, “Are you going to
DO memory care?” He encouraged people
to use the resources at the center to develop
an environment where people who are living
with, or love someone living with dementia
or Alzheimer’s, can feel engaged with their
loved ones.
Wishing can only become reality with proper
funding. Early on, Andrew Nesi, executive
vice president, Herbert J Sims & Co., provided
advice on creative financing options for the
capital project. He reminded attendees to bring
financial experts in on the initial meetings to
provide strategies, market updates, etc. to help
determine what is feasible. Nesi cautioned,
“Don’t let the prospect of increasing interest
rates impede your progress. You have a lot of
headroom in front of you, start early and get
moving to explore your options. Identify your
capital projects for the next three years and
borrow today