Jean Makesh, CEO of Lantern assisted living facilities in Ohio, is on a mission to give hope to his patients who are suffering from Alzheimer’s and severe dementia.
Often times, when Alzheimer’s and dementia patients move into a nursing home facility, they stop receiving the engagement and stimulation their brains need to survive. They are “given up on” and the unnatural environments and schedules of the nursing home lead to even further decline.
He believes that by changing the design and environment of nursing home facilities, nursing homes will be able to provide better care for their patients and, ultimately, rehabilitate patients to be able to live independently on their own.
His ideas started to form during his many interactions with patients, specifically, an encounter with one man who asked for breakfast every evening at 7:30pm. Confusion is one of the most common problems that Alzheimer’s patients deal with. This prompted Makesk, who believes in the enormous effect our environment has on us, to ask, “What if we design an environment that looks like outside?”
Taking this a step further, the Lantern CEO began researching other techniques, such as sound therapy and aromatherapy. What he developed turned into a truly unique nursing home facility that gives each resident a “Home” instead of a room, complete with an indoor neighborhood-like street, a digital sky that grows dimmer in the evening to keep their biological clocks in tune, and features natural sounds and fresh aromas.
This may seem like nice visual touches to an often cold type of facility, but Makesh didn’t make these changes just to make his patients more comfortable. Instead, he is working to change the way nursing facilities help patients suffering with dementia, and with hopes of long-term, positive results in mind.
It’s not unusual for American families with seniors or dependent adults to rely upon the help of a caregiving facility. Unfortunately, it is common for these long-term care facility residents to experience some form of abuse. If you have questions or are considering legal action relating to nursing home abuse, Dansky | Katz | Ringold | York invites you to contact us to speak with a member of our team about a free legal consultation.
Photo courtesy of Lantern
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