Keeping Residents Engaged and Mobile

A new person centered design project

South Cove Manor in Quincy, MA, is a licensed Long Term Care facility designed to encourage independence, mobility, and personal relationships among its residents and between residents and staff. The new South Cove Manor is a replacement facility designed to provide geriatric and rehabilitative services for the underserved Chinese-American senior community. As the only Asian nursing home in New England, SCM celebrates the residents’ rich historical heritage with appropriate imagery and features. The building’s forward-thinking design reflects a modern approach to senior care.

Each of the three nursing units in the 141 bed facility contain two distinct neighborhoods or groups of resident rooms focused on a central common space. To encourage mobility, the layout features a series of interconnected walking paths looping through the interior. Large corridors windows are bring in views of the neighborhood and give a sense of place. Kitchenettes integrated into the common areas give the residents activity choices and help engage with family and other residents. Nurse stations are downplayed to encourage care staff to circulate and interact with the residents. Open spaces are designed to reduce emotional and physical barriers.

Person Centered Memory Care

An Addition Project for Aging in Place

To promote its “aging in place” philosophy and fulfill its continuum of care mission, Edgewood Retirement Community in North Andover, Massachusetts created a new Memory Support Unit by having LWDA design a renovation and expansion of its existing facility. The memory care unit at Edgewood Retirement Community brings together resident choice, opportunities for social interaction, and resident centered care. Special attention is given to color and contrast to help overcome the impaired vision associated with aging and dementia related diseases. Patient rooms are painted in color blocks for easier identification; common activity areas are defined with saturated colors, which are more visible to older eyes. Resident rooms open directly to public areas to provide a better sense of connection for less mobile residents. A concierge style nurse desk is placed in the hallway to maximize patient supervision and avoid an institutional look, with open views across most of the unit and central courtyard.

Promoting and preserving personal dignity with design

Expanding the campus mission with an addition and renovation project

Mary Ann Morse Nursing and Rehabilitation Center’s goal “is to promote and preserve the personal dignity, independence and self-esteem” of their residents. Levi + Wong Design Associates designed an addition that created a safe, supportive, inviting space for all residents to engage. 

A two story addition was designed to facilitate care by providing better rehabilitation and memory support spaces, and by reducing the density of patient living to a current market standard. Despite the twelve new resident rooms, the overall bed census was increased by only ONE bed, as the new rooms were used to decant the double occupancy of existing rooms. A spacious Rehabilitation Gym with a simulated apartment on the first floor focuses on building resident independence and connects to an attached outdoor patio for a wider range of support activities. 

The Memory Support Unit expansion on the second floor is designed to help memory care residents interact with their environment.  Rooms are arranged around a central common social area, which allows patients in their rooms to have a better sense of social activities by opening doors. Light levels are controlled to address the sundowning effect, and rooms are identified with unique colors. 

Opening the facility to larger outdoor program spaces helped the facility further expand its usable area. Accessible outdoor spaces were added to all care and living units to foster a wider set of activities between residents and their families, including walking and gardening. A secure outdoor roof deck opens into the 2nd floor unit. Likewise, new outdoor therapy spaces were added to bring patients outside in Rehabilitation areas. Pavement surfaces and features act as therapy tools while blending into a shaded patio.