Reflections at Regency
Yarlardo Haire stands near some of the memory care unit’s retro décor. Photo by Madison Miller.
Yarlardo Haire, RN, has been a mother, a daughter and even a bank teller in her time as a memory care nurse.
“They would walk up at least once a week to get a loan,” Harris said of two residents she once cared for. “So, I was a banker. You live in the moment with them.”
Haire is happy to play the roles she is given because she knows it is important for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
“Once the brain cells die, there is no regeneration,” Haire said. “[It’s healthier] to meet them where they are.”
Haire is now a unit coordinator at Reflections at Regency Specialty Care Assisted Living Facility (SCALF) at Regency Retirement Village off Lakeshore Parkway. The new unit allows Regency to safely and securely care for residents with memory disorders. Previously, the community was forced to send residents elsewhere if issues with memory developed.
Regency Community Consultant Sheila Lackey said that there is a need in the community for memory care beds. Most local units are full and do not have the necessary space for residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, she said.
The new unit consists of 32 beds on a secure floor above its assisted living facility. When designing the space, Regency wanted to make residents as comfortable and at ease as possible. Three sections of the hall are painted different shades and feature large photos of unique birds or butterflies by each door. This is to help residents with association to their rooms.
“[The hall is] made so that they can relate to where their apartment is,” Lackey said. “They can say, ‘I live in the green hall by that orange bird.’”
The décor also includes fixtures from the past that help residents to feel more at home. Common areas have a ’50s diner feel with retro dinette sets and a jukebox. Rotary dial telephones adorn the walls and counter tops. Although the phones are not in use, having that object nearby gives residents more familiarity.
A mock nursery is also set up in the hall to give comfort to residents who are transported to a time in their lives when they had children at home.
“Their memory may go back to when their children were small,” Haire said. “They remember them as babies.”
While in the community, residents will be encouraged to participate in cognition games and activities six hours per day.
“If someone is in their apartment all the time, they isolate and they become depressed,” Haire said. “They stop using the cognitive skills that they have already.”
Reflections at Regency is expected to open in December. Spaces are currently being presold. Regency will host an open house for the unit on Dec. 3 from 5-7 p.m., at which anyone can tour the facility and the rooms.
For more information on Reflections at Regency, visit regencyretirementvillage.com.