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Caring For Our Most Vulnerable - 
Memory Care
D ustin Lee, owner of Birchwood Cottages and Chief Operating Officer at Prairie Senior Cottages, refers to a sign they have posted in the Birchwood Cottages lobby "Everyone Here is Someone's Hero" when asked about his philosophy in running his memory care communities.  "If we can keep that thought foremost in our minds when we are caring for our residents, it makes all of decisions on care so much easier and clearer.  The 'right' choice is never in question."  In making the decision to include Live 2 B Healthy ® fitness classes in his buildings, Dustin first referred to the above quote, and then 
followed by citing 5 aspects of his partnership with Live 2 B Healthy ® as the main selling points that influenced his decision to implement our senior fitness classes into his memory care communities:
1.   Keep occupancy rates near 100%.  

Live 2 B Healthy® helps to keep Dustin's current residents in place by reducing falls and helps to keep waiting lists full by providing a differentiating factor for marketing.
2.   Live 2 B Healthy ® makes it as easy as possible for us to implement their program.  

 "Many people don't realize how really demanding this position [caregiver in a memory care community] is.  When someone suggests we add just one extra step in our day, they don't realize that there just isn't any room to add anything!  If Cory hadn't taken over and done the work of implementing the entire program, we could never have found the time to do it ourselves."
3.   "By helping our residents to improve their balance and flexibility, we can help them to avoid falls that lead to unnecessary and cruel hospitalizations".

And, to hear Dustin describe the fear and confusion memory care residents are exposed to when they are sent away from their familiar routine to a hospital for treatment of injury, it's easy to see why he uses the term "cruel" in conjunction with "unnecessary".  
4.   "Family members want to see their loved ones engaged in life," says Dustin.

 So often, the big fear about placing a family member in a memory care residence is that they are tucking their loved ones away somewhere where they will be spending their time staring at the TV or out the window.  "It is so important for the well-being of our residents that we keep them active and engaged by providing quality activities like Live 2 B Healthy® classes," commented Dustin.
5.   Live 2 B Healthy® frees up at least 4 personnel hours per week.  

This means that while a Live 2 B Healthy® instructor is conducting a class, one caregiver has the time to perform another critical task.   "Four extra personnel hours per week is a HUGE benefit in communities like ours where every employee is on the run from the beginning to the end of each shift", comments Dustin.