Brightview Senior Living has grown its memory care program following a 2024 partnership with Curana Health in an effort to better serve its next generation of residents.

For over a year, Brightview has partnered with Curana Health to offer in-residence, value-based primary care services for Medicare beneficiaries.

“We’re not just caring for people living with dementia, we’re helping them thrive,” said Brightview Senior Living Corporate Director of Care and Cognitive Wellness Cole Smith. “These individuals are living with cognitive challenges, and can still, given the right support, be fully engaged members of this community.”

The end goal is to reduce unnecessary costs like avoidable hospitalizations while maintaining or improving health outcomes. The partnership also allows residents to see an on-site provider quickly and more frequently, reducing the time between identifying a change in acuity and a necessary care change, Smith noted.

This comes as memory care dynamics in 2025 continue to be shaped by strong demand for memory care, along with rising resident acuity driving complexity in operations.

The partnership with Curana complements the company’s Wellspring Village memory care model. These memory care communities are secure neighborhoods for residents focusing on safety, inclusivity and relationship-centered care, according to Smith. The memory care program has seen a reduction in hospitalizations, increased engagement and better resident retention, Smith told Memory Care Business.

Complementing the partnership with Curana Health, Smith said Brightview’s latest training program helps caregivers understand the lived experience of residents living with dementia or cognitive decline.

“It’s really about teaching associates to look at situations and say, I see this challenge, I see this opportunity, what’s missing? Then ask, What strength do I have that I can bring to help this resident or this situation succeed? When we start thinking that way and focusing on the relationship aspect, everything begins to shift,” Smith said.

In today’s memory care environment, Smith said it’s up to operators to expand their memory care models to focus on lifestyle and engagement, while also viewing every program or event as “an opportunity to connect” with residents.

To reframe aspects of programming that memory residents may be resistant to, like physical therapy, rehabilitation or fitness classes, Smith said operators must change programming to meet activity needs while bringing a new twist to remaining active.

For example, a resident may refuse to exercise but may be more willing to participate in a game that involves movement, motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Through the “Bright Minds” program, Brightview examines the diet and lifestyle of residents in memory care to improve overall brain health and cognitive function.

Another area that has grown in their engagement programming for residents in memory care is through music therapy, using popular music from residents’ teenage years and early 20s to spur memories and movement, Smith said.

To push memory care forward, operators must put a stronger focus on individualized care and alternatives to pharmacological interventions where possible.

“In this vein, many of our partner operators are prioritizing personalized activities that help residents feel engaged and fulfilled,” said Curana Vice President of Operations Tasha Janssen.

There must also be a push across the industry to educate families about memory care and to destigmatize the transition into needs-based areas like assisted living and memory care, Johnson added.

“We’re trying to help our senior living communities change that culture of that memory care is a bad place,” Janssen said.