GARDEN CITY BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A new facility for Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients will be opening on the Grand Strand this summer. Palmettos Assisted Living and Memory Care in Garden City created a space for patients to wander around with a purpose, doing activities that bring back familiar memories.
This new facility has living stations that allow patients to recall certain experiences in their life such as going grocery shopping, going to check the mail, caring for a baby, or listening to music on a Jukebox.
“It’s so interactive, and it’s real-life scenarios,” said Dementia Practitioner Michelle McCrackin.
“It’s helping to encourage memory recall and then it also gives the family a sense of purpose that if I place Mom and Dad here in this facility, this is the type of interaction that they’re getting.”
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there were 82,000 people with Alzheimer’s in South Carolina in 2016. Statistics show an increase of 42.9 percent is likely in the next eight years.
“It’s an epidemic, and it’s a very devastating disease and we really need to bring light to the disease and hopefully get enough publicity out there to where we can find a cure,” said McCrackin.
She said even though they can’t cure a patient’s disease, they can at least give them the best quality of life possible while they are living. This is a way to allow patients to roam around and feel like they are being productive, while also being safe. The stations are open 24/7. The center is expected to open this summer and can hold about 22 patients. Below is a full list of the living stations:
- Who’s got mail?
- Garden with water and fish
- Village market groceries
- Baby care
- Handyman/Fishing/Painting/Woodwork
- Administration: Office work, secretary, teacher
- His and her vanity station
- Laundry day, including outdoor clothesline
- Jukebox music memories
- Kitchen corner
- Rhythm band, guitar strumming
- Hope chest photo box memories
- Pampering spa
- Arts and crafts/floral arranging
You can learn more about the assisted living facility at www.ThePalmettosGardenCity.com.