1615 Bowline
Houston, TX 77062
Alzheimer’s and Memory Care
The Light Heart Model of Care is a significant change in traditional Alzheimer’s care. Light Heart was founded on the premise that a person with dementia relates best to their usual, familiar life-style… living in a home with just a few people. Thus, the Light Heart Model of Care was born … just 8 residents per “home” with 2 caregivers in the daytime and 1 awake staff at night.
The Light Heart Model of Care assesses each resident frequently for his or her level of cognitive awareness, emotional balance, ambulation and dexterity. We also attempt to get a detailed psychosocial history if available. We look for issues the resident had as a young adult as well as who the resident became in middle age. When we combine all this information we can build a picture of the whole person today. We consider this now picture of the resident as their “normal.” This allows us to have a personal relationship with each resident as an individual, not a disease or a child-like adult. We use this information to help us BE in each resident’s reality no matter what they are experiencing. Our staff is trained to accept whatever our resident is saying and/or experiencing as true for them. We remember always that there is still a person inside who feels and senses everything even though they often cannot understand what is going on around them. Our reaction to this dichotomy often determines the resident’s ability to cooperate, socialize, and experience improved quality of life.
The Light Heart Model of Care assesses each resident frequently for his or her level of cognitive awareness, emotional balance, ambulation and dexterity. We also attempt to get a detailed psychosocial history if available. We look for issues the resident had as a young adult as well as who the resident became in middle age. When we combine all this information we can build a picture of the whole person today. We consider this now picture of the resident as their “normal.” This allows us to have a personal relationship with each resident as an individual, not a disease or a child-like adult. We use this information to help us BE in each resident’s reality no matter what they are experiencing. Our staff is trained to accept whatever our resident is saying and/or experiencing as true for them. We remember always that there is still a person inside who feels and senses everything even though they often cannot understand what is going on around them. Our reaction to this dichotomy often determines the resident’s ability to cooperate, socialize, and experience improved quality of life.