By K B September 18, 2018
This beautiful community has a hard working dedicated team serving their residents, you can feel the passion and love given at St. Andrews! ...read more
By A M September 18, 2018
I feel the friendliness through the hall ways and appreciate how the staff and activities makes a fantastic effort to keep the place alive and full of smiles!!!!!!! ...read more
By T September 14, 2018
This community is one of the loveliest I have ever seen. The history in the building is amazing. They remodeled and respected the historical touches. To have a memory care community that takes you back in time is brilliant. St. Andrew's has been a part of Portland landscape for many years. The chapel is my favorite. So beautiful! The staff is caring and dedicated. ...read more
By Patrick Roden, RN, PhD To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter. -Euripides I recently posted a “best-of” (retread) blog titled:The Meaning of Thingsto make a point thatmeaningful objects fromhomelose meaning in institutions like nursing homes.When bloggers share ideas/concepts/stories on the net, we can only hope—like sending children off to school, they will do good in the world or have some positive influence. This post evoked a response I will always remember—and made my pointmore eloquently and personally than any of my efforts may have engendered.Sometimes replies trump the blog-post; and this was one of those times. Please read “Roberta’s” contribution, and imagine what she must have felt—I know you’ll be moved: August 12th, 2011 on 12:18 pm What a beautiful and powerful article. I have had experience with cherished things belonging to cherished people (my parents) in nursing homes. The loss of my Dad’s glasses still haunts me. How could someone have taken his glasses, how could we have prevented their loss? In his final days he could not clearly see faces of the people he loved. His mind was totally sharp it was his body that was sick. After the morning that we discovered that they had disappeared over night he never mentioned them again. We could not get a new prescription fast enough. He never again saw us or the smile of his beloved grandchildren. Cherished objects become cherished because they connect us to the world and to ourselves. We cannot dismiss them as unimportant – they are part of what helps us to live and eventually to let go at peace. See (photorreyes.corbitecso.com) The Meaning of Things Visit my websitehttp://aginginplace.com. ...read more
By Aging In Place September 27, 2011
The really frightening thing about middle age is that you know you’ll grow out of it! — Doris Day A tweet from Kohler got me thinking: What do you think of Barbie’s new eco-friendly dream homefrom Mattel and;@AIANationalhttp://huff.to/obGmER? We love the low-flow toilet! Seems Barbie is trending greenafter years of Pink convertibles and end-less wardrobes; not exactly a sustainability lifestyle (making up for past sins?). The joint effort is a synergy of The AIA and Mattel, who have teamed up for the design competition in honor of“Architect Barbie,”the newest addition to the career-themed“I Can Be”series coming soon to a store near you. Evolution of The Dream House I’m the youngest of three, I had two older sisters who,when they weren’t dressing me up like a doll(I got even later); were preoccupied with barbies. I have personal experience withThe Dream House, by way of having to endure Barbie play-time with the neighborhood girls. That Dream House has changed over the years to mirror social and cultural transformations: SeeVideo 1960The Original Dream House was marketed in 1960, and the commercial spurred young girls on with the fantasy of some day owning a home of there own. With furniture,a big closet filled with clothes,a fashion shop for shows, and a door that really opens… SeeVideo 1980Barbie Glamor House boasted awinding staircase, and front porch swing—emphasis onglamorand furniture. SeeVideo 2010Barbie GlamVacation Housewith balcony ladder, Flat screen TVs in “every room,” a poodle and pool, as well as the pink convertibles. 2011The latest Dream Home is inspired byeco-friendly design.Decked out with solar panels, operable shading and bamboo flooring, this dream house also comes with a low-flow toilet (which in real life could save about 4,000 gallons of water per year) and sink fixtures, all made from locally sourced materials.EcoBarbie also gets a 1,500-square-foot entertaining space and open chef’s kitchen,a separate library and client-meeting room, a full-floor “inspiration room,” a greenhouse on the roof, and a landscaped garden for her pets.See Architect Barbie’s Dream House Design Barbie Aging in Place The dream home is now over 50 years old, my sisters haven’t played with Barbie dolls for over 40 years.Given these realities, it occurred to me that maybe Barbie should start looking into The Universal Design Dream House.Here’s 5 places to start: The Barbie Universal Design Dream Home 1.Adapt main floor of the home for one level living: No-step entry, bathroom and bedroom / Kitchen and laundry on main floor 2.Widen doorways to 36” w/ offset hinges on doors: Doorways are often too narrow for walkers and wheelchairs (or someone carrying packages, widening a plus for all) 3.Install hand-held shower heads and grab bars: These are some of the least expensive changes you can make; great help to those with balance issues 4.Use lever handles on doors and plumbing fixtures: Hand strength can be an issue with all ages–using a simple lever eliminates the struggle w/operating doorknobs/faucets 5.Use “comfort height” toilets: Many people suffer from osteoporosis, arthritis, or temporary injuries and find it hard to stand up from a normal height toilet–a higher toilet (or toilet chair that fits over the existing toilet) helps with this challenge Pink Car Option for Baby Boomers 6.OK, the convertible: I hearFORDis designing new vehicles for aging baby boomers;you just have to convince them you want it in PINK! See A True Boomer Fairy Tale Kohler BOLDIndependence Aging in Place Design (photoYa/sin’s photostream) ...read more
By Aging In Place August 15, 2011
I often hear people say that a person suffering from Alzheimer’s is not the person they knew. I wonder to myself – Who are they then? –Bob DeMarco The Present-absence and the long-good-bye of Alzheimer’s disease is heart-breaking. I sat with my once brilliant friend,Frances Gabe, holding her hand and longing for the excursions into the deep end of ideas that we once shared. But that is in the past;to quoteChuck Heston quoting Shakespeare in his statement,they bade farewell and “melted into air, into thin air.” The unraveling of a life in the mind of a person with Alzheimer’s disease has been described as “the great unlearning,” the “demise of consciousness.” Just what does the disease uncover about the nature of being human? What’s left when memory dissolves “into thin air?” What role does the disease play in our fears of growing older and ageism? To hear a engrossing and enlightened discussion on these issues listen to Krista Tippett, host ofon Beingfor National Public Radio (click to listen):Alzheimer’s Memory and Being.See also“Intimations of the Great Unlearning: Inter-religious Spirituality and the Demise of Consciousness which is Alzheimer’s” by Gisela Webb. The Myth of the Unending Frontier ”The underlying basis of ageism is the dread and fear ofgrowing older, becoming ill and dependent, and approaching death. People are afraid, and that leads to profound ambivalence. Theyoung dread aging, and the old envy youth. Behind ageism iscorrosive narcissism, the inability to accept our fate, for indeedwe are all in love with our youthful selves, as is reflected inthe yearning behind the expression ‘salad days.’ Althoughundoubtedly universal, ageism in theUnited Statesis probablyfueled by the worship of youth in a still-young country dominatedby the myth of the unending frontier…” -Robert Butler, THE LONGEVITY REVOLUTION See NIA Home Safetyfor People with Alzheimer’s Disease I remember better when I paint The Soul of BioEthics HR Moody Aging in Place Technology Watch:Alzheimer’s and Caregivers “The Aging ofAmerica: Triumph or Tragedy?” Video: Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX-zU9svReI Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nskLQBow7JI (ImageAnton Christian) ...read more
By Aging In Place August 15, 2011
Hospice services are very personal and caring in nature, so it does not seem right to produce a huge marketing method to sell these services. It is better to build relationships and participate in events to make your services know to potential patients. ...read more
Although we hope everyone will recover from an illness or old age, this is oftentimes not the case. In some situations, there is nothing that can be done to restore a person’s health. However, hospice care can make the end of one’s life much more comfortable through physical, e... ...read more