We all hope for gentle transitions when we contemplate aging, whether in the ease of our day-to-day experience or as we face changes in our health or living situation. In reality, though, our loved ones will likely end up relying on us to make compassionate, thorough decisions and plans on their behalf, before we even have a chance to consider our own. We naturally assume that prospective caregiving solutions will have this same careful and caring focus. Sadly, as we see too often, many care facilities place more emphasis on their profits than on the people entrusted to their care. Fortunately, Lower Fairfield County residents enjoy an alternative – a nonprofit healthcare campus that is receiving national attention for its innovative approach to a continuum of care.
Waveny LifeCare Network in New Canaan provides arrangements for all phases of mature living and serves people from all areas. As an independent nonprofit, Waveny remains exclusively focused on the wellbeing of its residents. Generous donors, foundations, grants, and often beneficiaries of the programs endow Waveny with the ability to direct all of its resources toward the pursuit of the best possible care for its community. Here are several examples of how Waveny LifeCare Network represents a responsible paradigm shift in caregiving.
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1. The Continuum of Care Difference
An age-in-place continuum may be the most important element of one’s older years, and the key difference between aging with confidence versus crisis. A continuum offers comfort in knowing that even when facing natural changes in needs and independence, radical personal transitions need not occur. Waveny believes every individual should experience a compassionate continuum of care, and have the ability to entrust their changing needs to a single healthcare provider, for the long run.
There’s nothing this staff won’t do for you. -Ron, Resident at The Inn
Waveny residents can transition seamlessly from The Inn , designed for independent senior living, to The Village at Waveny , one of the most therapeutic assisted living communities in the world. An array of home-based care services, including live-in caregivers, brings Waveny’s level of excellence into the home, and meets the greater community’s growing need for in-home quality care. Clients of Waveny’s unique Respite Care or Adult Day programs also experience minimal inconvenience should they choose to become full-time Waveny residents or seek to bring additional support services in their homes. Consistent dedication to each Waveny resident never changes, regardless of lifestyle changes or even personal financial challenges. Waveny commits to its mission of eldercare and delivers upon it for the seniors it serves.
2. “Main Street” at The Village
In 2001, The Village at Waveny opened its doors as an unprecedented feat in environmental design and architecture. Designed as a multifaceted community with a familiar look reminiscent of how New Canaan’s downtown center looked in the 1950s, The Village’s “Main Street” has garnered international recognition for melding leading memory enhancement characteristics—such as signage, familiar storefronts, and even lamppost positioning—with all the facets of a dynamic public square.
Celebrated as “one of the most therapeutic environments in the world,” the memory-stimulating Village buzzes with activity beneath its 175-foot-long skylight, where creative arts, reading, music, and other groups meet beneath a clock tower bearing the same face as New Canaan’s iconic Moreno clock. Elsewhere friends settle in for a beauty treatment at the barbershop, discuss the Sunday paper or enjoy a meal with visiting loved ones or Waveny community friends.
A Village stroll demonstrates exactly how Waveny has profoundly differentiated itself from other eldercare facilities. Three therapeutic courtyards sit just outside The Village, with lovely areas for quiet reading or lively discussion, with looping pathways that provide easy access back to memory-enhancing Main Street.
3. Invigorating Adult Day Program
The Village’s Main Street is also a frequent locale for visitors to Waveny’s Adult Day Program , an innovative medical model program designed for seniors to interact with their peers while offering relief for their daytime caregivers. Participants arrive courtesy of a free door-to-door shuttle to take part in meaningful recreational and cultural programs like dance, yoga, tai chi, and art, as well as to mingle with Waveny residents. Often, Day Program attendees head right back out into the community on supervised group outings. It is important for caregivers to know that Waveny’s Day Program staff can assist older adults with tasks they may find overwhelming or challenging, including shower services, bathroom assistance, and medication management, while they attend the program. When and if desired, Day Program participants can take advantage of short-term overnight respite care, as well as outpatient rehabilitation services.
Every time I come here, I feel like I’m number one. No other place makes me feel that way. -Cora, Adult Day Participant
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4. Valuing Short-Term Care
Studies indicate caregiver relief enhances the lives of both the caregiver and those who receive their care. Waveny’s Respite Care program at The Village was created to provide primary caregivers with a break by offering safe, temporary lodging for as short a period as one week. Waveny offers caregivers the opportunity to relax and rejuvenate through Respite stays, which make use of The Village as if it was a “caregiving hotel” of sorts. Short-term respite guests enjoy a furnished private apartment, with all the personal care, services, oversight, meals, and social experiences that each Village resident receives. Fundamental positive experiences and fulfilling camaraderie yield long-lasting results that are appreciated by respite guests and caregivers alike, upon their return home.
Short-term respite guests are treated as one of Waveny’s own, participating in a full roster of social and therapeutic programs, including memory-enhancing activities. A respite stays also allows a family to assess what a potential assisted living lifestyle could look like in the future, without any decision-making pressure.
5. Home Care from a Trusted Team
Delivering on its mission to meet the changing healthcare needs and preferences of the community, Waveny expanded its continuum of services to include home care in 2012. Waveny Home Healthcare and Waveny at Home bring the expertise, quality, and local resources of Waveny’s community-based healthcare system into the home. Their trusted team makes rehabilitation at home and staying at home for the long term, a realistic choice. Fairfield County residents have access to Waveny’s home-based professionals, whether following a medical procedure or condition that may require home visits from a visiting nurse or therapist, or on an ongoing basis should they simply need a helping hand from a home health aide, CNA, companion, or even a live-in caregiver.
6. The Nonprofit Commitment
Many eldercare facilities are hamstrung by profit incentives and an absentee, conglomerate mentality. A well-funded independent nonprofit organization can focus entirely on the care of its residents. From highly regarded architecture to industry-leading therapeutic design in its Alzheimer’s and dementia residences, Waveny LifeCare Network epitomizes the benefits of the nonprofit, senior-first approach.
Waveny is a school of life. Everyone who works here learns who they are by respecting and loving others. -Ofelia, Waveny Staff
Nowhere is Waveny’s nonprofit ethos more evident than in the institution’s support of every resident, regardless of his or her financial situation. Generous grants are provided, bridge loans can be arranged, and, should financial support waver or become exhausted, long-term residency is guaranteed at Waveny Care Center, the area’s most highly regarded 5-star skilled nursing facility. In short, a member of the Waveny family is a family member for life.