Arbor Springs A Dementia Community

Arbor Springs is Iowa’s only Continuing Care Retirement Community that is dedicated entirely to Alzheimer’s and dementia care. line&para Arbor Springs cares for individuals through all stages of dementia. Located in a residential area, a hallmark of Arbor Springs is its award-winning design that offers residents the comfort, safety, and security of an environment like their own home. The Arbor Springs community is a welcoming arrangement of six neighborhoods positioned around Main Street. Main Street includes a sidewalk café, community center, therapy room, and beauty salon. Up to ten residents live in a neighborhood with each one having a private bedroom. line&para Bedrooms are arranged around an intimate living room, and memory boxes serve as markers to help identify individual rooms. Residents dine with others from their neighborhood in a cozy, homelike dining room. Outside courtyards give residents the opportunity to enjoy fresh air and landscaping in a secure setting. line&para Arbor Springs offers long-term care, short-term rehabilitation, and respite care. line&para Short-Term Rehabilitation and Skilled Care—Everything about our care—the facility, staff, environment, and therapy program—are designed specifically for those individuals who not only need rehabilitation but who may also need to overcome complications that dementia brings to the rehabilitation process. Rehabilitation is much more difficult for individuals with dementia because it is harder for them to stay focused on the therapy. There’s also a significantly higher chance of resistance or refusal because he or she cannot cognitively comprehend what is happening and why it’s important. Our Medicare certified rehabilitation team consists of physical, occupational, and speech therapists. Each discipline is uniquely qualified to make sure that dementia does not diminish or derail the individual’s program. Individuals are participating in therapy up to three hours daily. However, families take comfort in knowing the other 21 hours are spent in a quiet, neighborhood environment with caregivers who are not only socially engaging their loved one but also providing quality dementia care. line&para Arbor Springs has been the preferred rehabilitation site for many assisted livings and assisted living memory cares. The Arbor Springs therapy team has been very successful in returning individuals to their pre-injury/illness ability, thus allowing individuals to return to their assisted living upon completion of their rehabilitation. line&para Our Care Model—Arbor Springs operates under the philosophy that in order to provide excellent dementia care, equal attention must be given to four specific areas. Therefore, we utilized the “4 Components of Care” model, which includes medical treatment, caregiving techniques, physical environment, and social environment. line&para Medical Treatment—We prefer and will go to great lengths to preserve the practice of using non-pharmacological interventions unless it is absolutely necessary for the safety of the residents to use medications. Appropriate medications are selected with careful consideration given equally to their potential therapeutic benefits as well as their potential negative side effects. line&para Caregiving Technics—Properly educated caregivers are essential for providing excellent dementia care. Arbor Springs’ staff undergoes intensive orientation and participates in continuous training and development to meet the special needs of those with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Iowa requires a minimum of six hours of dementia training for long-term care facilities and a minimum of eight hours of training for assisted livings. Arbor Springs provides 12 hours of training upon hire and provides over 20 hours of training yearly. Nearly half of Arbor Springs’ nursing staff are Certified Dementia Practitioners, and Arbor Springs also employs a Certified Dementia Care Manager. We provide consistent staffing on our neighborhoods, which not only allows the staff to get to know each individual resident, but also the resident and family to get to know the staff. We continue to have one of the highest certified nursing assistants staffing ratios in central Iowa (1:5). line&para Arbor Springs recognizes that families are just as important as staff within the caregiving environment. Alzheimer’s is truly a family disease and requires more comprehensive family involvement than in non-dementia long-term care facilities. Family members provide valuable input into the overall care planning process, and Arbor Springs provides education and support to families throughout their journey. line&para Physical Environment—Our community was designed specifically for individuals with dementia; consequently, the outcome is a quiet, secure environment that allows for exceptional quality of life. line&para Social Environment—Arbor Springs employs two full-time activity professionals who oversee the programming needs of our residents. Our activities are designed to build on a resident’s abilities giving them a sense of purpose and productivity.