Cambridge Enhanced Senior Living, a continuing care retirement community in Moorestown, New Jersey, recently launched a new memory care program in collaboration with Marquis Health Consulting Services.
The launch of the “Journeys” memory care model aims to enhance programming and create a standardized approach to care delivery, management, and operations. The Cambridge property supports the physical infrastructure needed to accommodate new memory care growth. But it should be noted that the memory care program is now rolling out to other Marquis communities, company leaders recently told Memory Care Business.
“We recognized as an organization the need and opportunity to elevate the programming and bring a different level of support to the campus in memory care,” said Jennifer Hertzog, vice president of marketing and business development at Marquis.
The Journeys memory care program is a direct response to the growing demand for higher-acuity care offerings as senior living operators address the needs of a more acute customer base.
“Memory care needed to be a focal point, so we are excited about the continuum of care offered at our Cambridge campus. We will be implementing this model across our communities,” said Jean Krautzel, director of memory care in the mid-Atlantic for Marquis Health Consulting Services.
The memory care program’s guidelines and structure align with the Alzheimer’s Association’s best practice recommendations for providing dementia care, from physical environment and layout to staff education and care delivery methods.
To ensure uniformity across the portfolio during the rollout, Marquis emphasized staff training and support, Hertzog said. From a physical infrastructure perspective, Cambridge and other communities will be renovated to create secure environments in a neighborhood setting. In-unit, the program separates recreation space from living space, including a full-service kitchenette.
Memory care residents have access to a secure outdoor walking path to maintain “their maximum level of independence” while ensuring resident safety, Krautzel added.
“The design elements from a décor standpoint are meant to maintain a calm environment,” Krautzel said.
This approach means avoiding bright colors and other overstimulating design elements that could negatively affect someone living with dementia.
Marquis communities have invested an average of $5 million to $7 million in capital expenditures across their senior living portfolio as part of a sweeping renovation campaign. This stems from a “reinvigoration and reimagination” of what dementia care could look like in the future, Krautzel said.
“Dementia care needs to be an entire continuum, and our Cambridge campus is a great example of that,” Krautzel said.
The launch of the Journeys memory care program across Marquis communities is driven by direct demand for dementia care, which will create enhanced programming needs and investment in caring for older adults, Hertzog said.
“It’s become a very specialized level of care in the senior living space, and we will only continue to see this grow,” Hertzog added.
Regardless of where a Marquis employee works in the senior living continuum, all are trained in dementia care best practices—a response to the demand for more acute care due to early-onset dementia in other areas of senior living, Krautzel said.
“We need to be able to support individuals who are entering those earlier stages,” Krautzel added.
Embedded in the Journeys memory care program is also an element of caregiver and family support, as these are often the loved ones tasked with seeking out memory care options and providing daily care to those living with dementia.
