Autumn Years at Newport Mesa

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Autumn Years at Newport Mesa
2891 Bear St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(949) 629-1020

Our "Understanding" Dementia Care Program

The reality of someone with dementia can be confusing, frustrating, and even frightening. A person may not remember the name of their daughter...or their own name. They may clearly remember they are supposed to be at their son's home today (in Ohio) and start walking there. They may become paranoid that you are stealing their socks or hoard items from around the house.

We offer specific services for our residents who are living with Alzheimer's disease, dementia and other forms of memory impairment. These services require special licensing and special training, along with a tremendous amount of patience and understanding.

Our fabulous caregivers strive to help each of our residents to:

Live comfortably and safely within "their" world.
Improve, then sustain, their quality of life.
Stimulate their minds and bodies to meet (and even challenge) their level of ability.
Maintain their dignity.

Autumn Years - On a Personal Level

There is no standard or norm for dementia. Every person is affected by the disease in their own unique way. So we approach each resident as a unique person, with a unique problem that requires a unique solution.

Here are some of the personal services we include:

Recognize the capabilities and identify the needs of each individual.
Adjust our level of personal supervision to match the level of cognitive ability.
Design a 'Personal Care' Plan and establish an individual routine that keeps the resident within their comfort zone.
Allow the resident to express themselves and live in 'their' world. (Safety permitting.)
Monitor each resident for proper nutrition and adequate hydration.
It is common for a resident with dementia to lock on to an action that is not in their best interest. Instead of being confrontational, our staff 'redirects' their focus to another course of action.

Autumn Years - On a Social Level

Social contact is so important to human beings, even to those who have lost many of their social skills. We strive to keep our residents active and involved in the world around them...as much as possible. This may take a bit of prodding or a lot of patience...and a lot of determination.

Here are some of the personal services we include:

Encourage participation in daily activities designed for memory impaired individuals.
Our staff engages the residents. They talk to them, even when they know the resident has minimal communication skills. When a resident chooses not to participate in activity (and just sits off to the side and watches), our staff still strives to make them feel included.
Communicate with family members, addressing their needs and helping them stay involved in the life of their loved one.
Some of our residents are at risk to wander away. So we provide a secure perimeter that allows them to roam as they wish within the safety of our grounds.

Our Beliefs:
Dependence verses Independence
We have a strong core belief that our residents face a daily decision. They can choose dependence or independence. Independence is a daily struggle, but it keeps the mind and the body alive and vibrant. Dependence, on the other hand, breeds dependency. We believe that just as the muscles in our bodies need to be used in order to be healthy, so too our wills need to be exercised and independence exerted. When any one feels truly independent, they typically feel that their lives have meaning.

Because of our passion about independence, we strive every day to motivate our residents to be more independent than they were the day before. We have committed to providing world class service when needed, but when there is a choice, we want our residents to choose independence!

Food is our best activity
When you think about great moments in your life, they are usually in a meal setting. We will always remember laughing with our family while eating grilled cheese sandwiches, hot chicken noodle soup on a raining day in our youth. We recall with joy those wonderful celebrations and moments in restaurants with friends and family! Meals are important not only for good nourishment and health, but also for socialization.

At Autumn Senior Living, we strive for great food in an elegant dining room. We pay extra attention to the presentation of the food. Our dining room is open from 7:30AM to 6:00PM. During the open dining period, we offer two hot entrees along with an a la carte menu. We are committed to providing a wonderful dining experience!

We know real HEROES
At Autumn Senior Living, we have the privilege of seeing heroes every day- our own Care Attendants! These people give up themselves sacrificially in order to help our residents. Many will tell you they get back so much more than they give…they get back love, gratitude and knowledge that their lives have meaning and significance. At the end of the day, this is the true meaning of success!

Creating Community
At Autumn Senior Living we are dedicated to building “Community”. Our community is a place where everyone, our residents, families and staff, interact and are committed to each others well being. This is where friendships are made, laughter is shared, and grieving is not done alone.

Access to healthcare is the first step to health
At Autumn Senior Living we make access to healthcare easy. A podiatrist comes on site to service residents regularly. We provide transportation so that outside medical appointments can be easily obtained.

We also work closely with home-health agencies who provide healthcare right in the residents’ apartments.

Autumn Senior Living Life Enrichment Program
Most Assisted Living Communities have activity programs. Unfortunately, many times the activity becomes the end in itself. Many communities haven’t stopped and asked the penetrating question, “What is the purpose behind our activities?”

We believe that “activities for activity sake” is meaningless. There needs to be a purpose, a goal, behind every thing we do. We love the term “Life Enrichment Program” because it makes us think about the purpose behind the program. We believed that valid purposes are; to be productive or to contribute, to experience success, to play, to be with others, to build skills, to have a sense of control, to feel safe and secure, to fulfill a religious or spiritual need, to experience growth and learning.

Communicating Results
Since we have these passionately held beliefs, we feel bound to communicate to our residents and their families what progress is being made. We do this through our Personalized Care Program, which is a periodic written evaluation of our every resident which covers the major areas of their life. Our goal is to work with each resident and their family to identify individual needs and wants, establish goals for each of these areas, and then look for the right solutions

Copyright 2009 by Seasons LTC