Specialities

Pet Therapy at Grace House of Windham

At Grace House of Windham, pets are part of the family. Our pets bring a smile to our residents’ faces, brightening their day. We are firm believers in pet therapy for the elderly because it provides a sense of well-being and companionship. Pets are a cause for connecting with people, conversation, and nurturing. Dealing with separation from loved ones can be hard, causing a sense of loneliness. Pet therapy for adults eases the problem and provides a positive outlook to all of our residents.

According to LoveToKnow Seniors, the physical benefits of pet therapy for the elderly are increased mobility, increased exercise, and lowered blood pressure. The emotional benefits are companionship, a sense of caring and nurturing, increased self-esteem, decreased anxiety and depression due to the bond formed with the animal, reduced loneliness, and increased social interaction.

Fall Risk Among the Elderly

Grace House of Windham provides a small, home-like environment for our residents. With a high staff to resident ratio, we can ensure that the safety of your loved one is our highest priority. Adequate staffing ensures a lower fall ratio and allows proper fall risk protocols to be in place.

Each staff member averages 4-5 residents at a time, which is significantly better than industry standards. This means that your loved one gets more personalized attention at Grace House of Windham than any other facility.

Dementia With Lewy Bodies

Grace House of Windham is a safe environment for the memory impaired, including those with Lewy body dementia. Lewy body dementia is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain. The disease has common symptoms with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and is common in older adults.

Lewy body dementia accounts for as many as 20% of the seven million cases of dementia in the United States. This disease is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is the term for numerous disorders or conditions that cause dementia. The disease is named after smooth round protein lumps, which are called Lewy bodies, found in the nerve cells of affected brains. The Lewy bodies are found throughout the layer of the brain and deep inside the brainstem.

Symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia

Problems with memory and judgment, confusion, and other cognitive symptoms that overlap with Alzheimer’s disease.
Excessive daytime drowsiness.
Visual and auditory hallucinations.
Cognitive symptoms and level of alertness may fluctuate during the day, from day-to-day.
Movement problems, including stiffness, shuffling walk, shakiness, lack of facial expression, and problems with balance and falls.
In about 50% of cases, Lewy body dementia is associated with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep disorder.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Grace House of Windham is purposely designed to be a safe environment for the memory impaired. Our high staff to resident ratio, which is better than any other facility in the area, allows proper time to care for our residents who have Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. All of our residents are treated with care, respect, and dignity all the time.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory, judgment, decision making, the ability to carry out simple daily tasks, and language. Most of the time symptoms start to appear after age 60.

Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

The stages of Alzheimer’s disease provide a useful timeframe of how the disease may unfold. Please note that not everyone will experience the same symptoms or develop the disease at the same rate.

Stage 1: Normal Function

No memory problems: mentally healthy and normal.

Stage 2: Very Mild Cognitive Decline (Normal Age Forgetfulness)

More than half of the population over the age of 65 experience cognitive or functional difficulties, such as forgetting familiar names, where they put their keys or wallets, or other objects. These problems are not yet apparent to doctors, friends, or family.

Stage 3: Mild Cognitive Decline

In stage 3, early-stage Alzheimer’s can be diagnosed in some individuals with these symptoms. Friends and family begin to notice deficiencies with memory loss and concentration. Some common difficulties include a word or name finding, less of an ability to remember names when meeting new people, job performance, retaining little information when reading, and misplacing everyday objects.

Stage 4: Moderate Cognitive Decline (Mild or Early-Stage Alzheimer’s)

Symptoms of impairment become much more obvious in this stage. Functional capabilities, such as writing the correct date or amount on a check, may become difficult. Also, the memory of personal history declines, and the individual may seem withdrawn.

Stage 5: Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease

At this stage, individuals can no longer manage on their own. Assistance with regular day-to-day tasks becomes necessary. Individuals may not be able to recall their own address or telephone number. They also may become confused about where they are or what day of the week it is. However, at this stage, the individual usually retains knowledge about themselves, such that they can recall their name and the names of their children and typically don’t require assistance with eating or using the bathroom.

Stage 6: Moderately Severe Alzheimer’s Disease

At this stage memory, difficulties continue to worsen. Significant personality changes may also develop, causing individuals to need extensive help with normal everyday activities.

Stage 7: Severe or Late-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease

This is the final stage of the disease. Individuals lose the ability to respond to their environment, the ability to speak, and are unable to control their movements. Individuals also lose the ability to walk without assistance, sit up without support, and the inability to hold their own heads up. Reflexes also become abnormal and muscles grow stiff.