Aspira Riverbend Crossing Memory Care is a retirement home in Saskatchewan with a difference. Solely dedicated to those with Alzheimer’s, memory loss and other types of dementia, it offers superior supportive care in an environment that “meets people where they are at” says general manager Shelly Sundholm. It also allows residents to age in place, from palliative all the way to end of life which removes the need for back and forth trips to the hospital if a resident’s health deteriorates.

“We meet people where they are at”
This philosophy is what makes Riverbend Crossing such a special place. Anyone who cares for someone with dementia will tell you that constantly correcting them isn’t a viable strategy. For example, a resident with dementia may think they are a young child waiting for their parents to arrive or that they live in another country.

So instead of upsetting, embarrassing or frustrating the resident by continuously correcting them, the staff will respectfully go along with the resident and encourage them to enjoy their day. Team members at Aspira Riverbend Crossing find that this compassionate approach allows the resident to maximize their enjoyment of any given day. “The reality is, in a half hour they won’t remember so we want to ensure residents maintain as much semblance of calm as possible,” said Shelly.

Riverbend Crossing’s beautiful Regina location is home to 49 residents – the youngest being 59, the oldest 102 – with the average age in the mid 80s.

Debunking myths about people living with dementia
Clearly a very passionate general manager, Sundholm was quick to debunk certain myths about dementia. “Memory care is not a plan, more so a need. The biggest myth is residents have no quality of life. This is just not true. We meet our residents where they are at so everyone who lives here is provided an opportunity to be as independent as possible,” she said.

“For example lots of our residents can’t use a cutlery anymore so our executive chef did a lot of research and now we have a range of creative finger foods. This enables residents to feed themselves and maintain that level of independence.”

A creative, empowering approach to dining
This is all part of the strategic approach to food at Riverbend Crossing. First off, to avoid overwhelming residents, portions are small and manageable. Meals arrive course by course as many residents will eat dessert first. For breakfast, instead of serving whole pancakes and sausages they will serve pancake strips and sausage coins, this allows residents to feed themselves independently.

Then there are residents who don’t want to eat. In these cases it’s just about letting them eat what they want “because at least it’s calories” says Shelly. The food and beverage program at Riverbend Crossing has been a success, so much so that family members have commented on loved ones – who once struggled to eat – gaining much needed pounds.

Special simulator stimulates residents
When it comes to keeping residents entertained and stimulated Aspira Riverbend Crossing is extremely well equipped. “We have a simulator that residents can sit in, there’s a big screen and it makes them feel like they are driving, through a farm or on a highway,” said Shelly. “The same simulator can also do a tour of the world. We had a resident here from Croatia, non verbal, and we found the town he grew up in on the simulator and suddenly he knew exactly where he was. It’s about programming that meets the needs.”

No shortage of activities
“Not everyone wants to do exercises, not everyone wants to go for a walk so we do other things,” Sundholm continued. “Tactile. Residents can bake, they can stir and then they can taste. Planting flowers, our residents plant the flowers in the garden and care for them.” Residents also take care of grow towers in the gardens. So they will grow spinach, for example, and then harvest it and turn it into a dip that they put on the freshly baked bread they helped to make.

“They get to work hands on and then they get to consume what they’ve made,” said Sundholm. The hands-on approach doesn’t end there as residents enjoy crafts, puzzles and painting. A lot of these activities take them back to a simpler time and in the case of the crafts and painting residents get to display their finished product. 

The power of music
Riverbend Crossing’s music therapy program is another huge success and has a profound effect on the residents. “We have residents here who don’t remember very much but they know every word to every song,” said Shelly with a smile. “We do a lot of musical therapy and the residents watch a lot of musical movies and love singing along.” 
Sundholm believes the reason music helps is because “it takes them back to a time and a place, it makes them happy and you can tell by the smiles on their faces.”

Debunking another dementia myth
Shelly was quick to debunk another myth about people with dementia and memory problems. “Some people think they don’t feel pain or happiness, they feel all of that, they are still loving human beings who cognitively things have changed for.”

The sad reality is many residents don’t have families that visit. However the families that do visit are very satisfied and impressed by Aspira Riverbend Crossing Memory Care and how it has positively affected the life of their loved one. “What speaks volumes is a lot of new residents comes from referrals,” said Shelly. “Referrals from families of loved ones who have been a resident with us.”

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