Senior Home Designed As Typical 1940s American Street To Help Patients With Alzheimer’s

Feb 11, 2020 by apost team

A senior home in Ohio is breaking convention by creating a sanctuary for Alzheimer's patients. 

Lantern of Chagrin Valley is designed to look like an American suburban street from the 1940s, as opposed to a generic, hospital-like care home.

Jean Makash, the CEO of a new retirement home called The Lantern, decided to take a different approach. He had the facility, which is based in Ohio, designed to resemble a neighborhood in the 1940s.

Even though everything is indoors, the rooms look like houses in a suburban neighborhood complete with porches, benches, rocking chairs, and small gates. Each unit is painted a different color to add to the illusion of their being different houses.

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The green carpet outside the units resembles grass, and potted plants and street lights make it seem as if the residents are going outside when they out of their rooms. The fiber-optic ceiling is particularly impressive, as it’s a high-tech version of the ceiling in Hogwarts’ Great Hall. It resembles the sky during different times of the day. Recordings of chirping birds add to the sensation of being outdoors.

Many of the residents have dementias like Alzheimer’s Disease. While such patients have trouble remembering recent events, they can often remember their childhoods. Makesh thus decided to have The Lantern designed to look like people’s homes from the WWII era in order to make the residents feel as if they were truly at home.

The Lantern uses aromatherapy to help the residents. Patients with dementia often forget to eat and consequently suffer dehydration and malnutrition. The staff will use scents like peppermint or citrus to stimulate patients’ appetites at mealtimes. They will use other scents like frankincense to cheer up depressed residents.

The Lantern also provides the residents with plenty of activities to keep them busy and happy. The residents can choose from such activities as shopping trips, massages, family nights, and a cooking club. Makesh commented on The Lantern’s website that the residents had worked hard all of their lives and deserved to enjoy their retirement years. He also wanted them to live in a comfortable environment with surroundings that could stimulate their memories.

Have you heard of a nursing home like this? Would you arrange to have a relative stay there? Please post your comments in the box below.