Reveals how the conditions of patients at Living Room, the
Alzheimer's wing at Prospect Park Residence in Brooklyn, New York are
improved. Amenities offered to the patients; Goal of the Living Room;
What could help stimulate their memories.
By
Martta Rose, published on July 01, 1999
RESIDENCE
The Living Room, the Alzheimer's wing at Prospect Park Residence in
Brooklyn, New York, hopes to Improve patients' futures by reminding them
of their pasts.
The wing, a smell community that some 23 residents call home, is
decorated with colorful murals and holds a beauty salon, Ice cream parlor
and library. Memory boxes, containing photographs and other memorabilia
from the residents' younger days, hang outside each apartment.
The goal of the Living Room and similar Alzheimer's residences Is
to use physical environment to help patients feel connected to others and
to their own lives, even as a disorienting disease sets In. "A decor that
is reminiscent of their earlier years can help stimulate their memory,"
says William Senders, coordinator of nursing homes at the New York City
Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
Gayatri Devi, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at Columbia
University, agrees. "Patients with Alzheimer's disease often withdraw,
fearing embarrassment In social situations," she says. "Settings that
promote communication about familiar topics can reduce their levels of
isolation."
ILLUSTRATION (COLOR)
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