Designing Dementia-Friendly Spaces: A Look at Facility Layout and Decor
March 25, 2025
The Hickman in Pennsylvania is committed to providing excellent memory care, and we do it with compassion. Our Darlington Memory Care Neighborhood is housed within the Anna T. Jeanes building, and it affords all the comforts of home along with the additional security that those with cognitive impairments or dementia need to live full and rewarding lives. Our focus is on individualized care that ensures each of our residents feel respected and supported in their thoughtfully considered accommodations – whether private or semi-private.
We Embrace a Montessori Approach
We’re based on Quaker principles, and this extends to embracing the Montessori-Inspired Lifestyle program in our Memory Care Neighborhood. The idea is to provide person-centered memory care that focuses on the following:
- Providing a healthy level of stimulation
- Fostering the highest level of independence each resident is capable of and is comfortable handling
- Affording residents cognitive engagement that appeals to them personally
This includes offering residents wide-ranging activities and dining options and providing them with living spaces that are designed specifically to be dementia friendly.
Our Gardens Invite Participation
The Montessori approach emphasizes the primary values of respect, equality, and dignity, and these are all reflected in the memory care we provide. The goal is to allow each resident to express themself with ease and to maximize their enjoyment in life through authentic connections with others and meaningful participation in group projects, which include our thriving gardens that our residents can engage with to whatever degree they enjoy. This can mean simply taking in their beauty, gathering flowers for bouquets, watering the plants, or getting their hands dirty with planting and weeding.
Our Private and Semi-Private Rooms
Our private studio layouts are spacious enough to include a closet, private bathroom, desk, night table, bed, and living space, which affords a comfortable oasis for residents who are hosting guests or spending quality time on their own. Semi-private rooms house two residents and provide considerably more square footage that allows for a homey shared space.
Decor
The decor we provide our residents continues to build on the Montessori approach, and as such, we focus on the following:
- Establishing calm
- Providing an organized living environment that is familiar and affords sensory-rich experiences
- Employing contrasting colors that are less stressful to distinguish from one another
- Minimizing clutter and busy patterns that invite confusion
- Ensuring clear pathways that allow free movement
- Building in personalized flourishes that allow each resident to experience a fuller sense of home
At The Hickman, We’re Committed to Individualized Memory Care
The Hickman has been providing residential care in Pennsylvania that focuses on independent living for more than a century, and this extends to our memory care. We take a holistic approach that’s based on the principles of Montessori, and that focuses on each resident’s unique needs and preferences – without ever losing sight of primary concerns such as treating each resident with the respect they deserve, fostering equality throughout the community, and preserving each resident’s dignity. This is reflected in every detail, including our layout and decor. Learn more by contacting us online or calling 484-760-6300 today.