A new retirement community has opened in Yorkton, and they took the chance to show off what they can offer residents and the community as whole.
Heather Martin, Executive Director of Yorkton Crossing, says they planned events such as an antique car show and grand opening tour that would allow them to show off the grounds as well as what they offer to residents. They also took the opportunity to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society in the process, through food sales.
Apart from inviting the community to see the facility itself, Martin says that the other goal for the grand opening week was to feature events that the residents could enjoy. That was the logic of kicking off the week with an antique car show, something which residents could enjoy and reminisce about the past, remembering back to when the cars were new.
“We wouldn’t do something here that our residents couldn’t enjoy.”
Memory care is a focus for the new facility, both for residents – there is a memory care unit within the facility itself – and in their interactions with the community as a whole. They have hosted events to educate people on how to better care for loved ones afflicted with dementia, and Martin says they feel there is a need for that service within the community.
“As a philosophy, we feel that education and support for seniors with dementia is so fundamentally important.”
They also feel as though they are filling a gap in memory care within the community. They want to have more information out there, so people can better understand dementia. They want people with dementia to still be recognized as valuable, contributing community members.
