At communities managed by The Goodman Group, our signature platinum lifestyle extends to all residents, creating opportunities for growth, engagement, and joy. 

While it is perfectly natural to feel a bit guilty moving mom or dad into a memory care community, you can rest assured you're making a positive choice for their well-being. You can still take an active role, visiting regularly or attending special community-family events. 

Memory Care and A Fulfilling Life

“Seniors, especially those in cognitive decline or with dementia, are at risk of social isolation,” explains Haley B., life enrichment director at The Lodge, located on The Lakes at Stillwater campus in Stillwater, MN. Fortunately, research from the National Library of Medicine has shown that physical activity, intellectual stimulation and socialization can help delay dementia onset and slow symptom progress.

With that in mind, Haley says her life enrichment team’s goal is “to enhance all aspects of life–social, cognitive, physical and emotional–to improve overall well-being and quality of life.” 

Often, memory care residents can no longer advocate for themselves or maintain daily routines independently, so life enrichment programs support them by promoting normalization and routine.

The Pearls of Life® memory care neighborhoods at The Goodman Group’s managed communities bring out the treasures–pearls–within each individual. Activities are based on Montessori Inspired Lifestyle®, which focuses on treating seniors with dementia as adults and helping them find purpose in daily activities despite their cognitive changes.

“This may not be where they used to live,” Haley says, “but it’s still their home and they can still take ownership in some ways.” 

Residents are encouraged to help out with household and hosting tasks such as sweeping, setting tables in the dining room, wiping down tables, folding laundry or passing out drinks at gatherings. 

The Power of Choice – An Emotional Uplift

What’s so impressive is that residents take the lead in multiple ways. The secure environment in memory care communities feels controlled–and it is, for very important resident safety reasons. To offset that, residents are offered choices wherever possible. Making their own decisions gives them a sense of control. Individuals have a say in what they want to wear, eat and do each day, with support from team members as needed.

“We don’t just sit at a computer and create the calendar,” Haley explains. Instead, resident committees plan what they want to do. “It’s more valuable hearing directly from them what they want or don’t want,” she says. They choose the themes, the snacks and so on. Team members support them as needed to get things done. One well-received decision? A hot cocoa party with their families.

Staying Active in Meaningful Ways

“The Goodman Group invests resources into creating structured programs so team members at the managed communities can then tailor them to our residents,” Haley notes, emphasizing that each community has unique characteristics and needs.

Residents living in memory care communities have a range of capabilities. So life enrichment team members are trained to lead group activities for different stages simultaneously, adapting each activity to individual abilities. Some residents may help lead the group or buddy up with someone else, allowing team members to help those individuals who need more assistance. The goal is to create activities that engage all residents—offering enriching opportunities for those with stronger abilities while ensuring everyone can participate and contribute in their own way.

Because residents experience varying degrees of memory loss, team members continuously evaluate programming in real-time. Are you enjoying this? Is there something we should do differently next time? The residents are usually quite honest about their opinions, shared Haley.

Physical Exercise

Every day includes structured exercise. The Goodman Group’s FIT Functional Fitness® program incorporates elements that focus on different physical activities important for seniors such as pedaling, chair yoga, balance, strength and stretching. 

Social Interaction and Cognitive Stimulation

Structured conversation topics encourage residents to reminisce about past events or common interests. These conversations help maintain verbal skills and strengthen social connections while activating long-term memory.

Residents collaborate on decisions about what to plant in the garden each year. They clean up the area, design the space and do the planting. They join in community-wide celebrations of our veterans. These diverse opportunities are just the beginning.

Fun and Games

Along with a calendar-full of regularly scheduled activities, team members and residents also have fun with holidays. The community embraces "National Days" of celebration as opportunities for creative engagement. For National Chip and Dip Day, for example, residents created their own dips.

Cognitive games like Jeopardy and trivia games are especially popular. Residents can play individually or together as a group, choosing trivia themes such as eras, music or musical artists. Team members use online platforms designed for senior living communities to host some of these games. They also create their own games, using simple tools like whiteboards for visuals.

Music

Music can be particularly meaningful to those with dementia. At The Lodge, a music therapist visits the memory care neighborhoods twice a month. In between those sessions, there are sing-alongs and other musical activities daily or weekly, and a volunteer resident from independent living comes by to help out. There is also a radio/CD player in the common area, so residents can choose whether they want to listen to the radio or play some favorite CDs.

One memory care resident, a former music teacher who still reads sheet music, regularly plays piano for fellow residents. Recently during the Dignity Walk to honor a person who had passed away, she spontaneously moved over to the piano and played “Amazing Grace” for her fellow residents.

Everyone who lives at The Lodge is also invited to periodic live musical entertainment or educational presentations in the main hall. 

Ages Entwined

The Lakes at Stillwater has an intergenerational partnership with a local elementary school which links residents with students as “grandfriends.” All residents at The Lodge are welcome to visit the school to help first-graders practice reading. 

“They find great purpose in this program,” notes Haley, “and they make such sweet connections with the students.”

One time, residents made bookmarks for the readers. The kids create gifts for the residents, too, often writing a specific person’s name on the card to ensure it goes to “their” grandfriend.

Off-Campus Outings

Memory care residents maintain connections with the broader community through regular excursions. The community's bus transportation enables residents to enjoy ice cream, lunch, museum visits, apple orchards and sometimes just scenic drives.

A Full Social Calendar and So Much More

Haley and her dedicated team are passionate about sharing the reality of daily life in their memory care neighborhood. They especially hope it will positively impact perceptions of what memory care is all about. 

If you’re considering professional care for your loved one with cognitive impairment, we encourage you to learn more about the Pearls of Life® memory care neighborhoods and Montessori Inspired Lifestyle(R) approach to care in communities managed by The Goodman Group.