Kallimos Communities Care for the Person
“Memory Care” is the euphemism traditional aging services uses to describe the segregation and isolation of people who are living with some form of dementia. “Memory Care” usually consists of a locked door, a slate of planned, programmed activities, psychoactive medication, and staff who have received eight hours of training on different types of dementia. For this you will pay $6000-$9000/month.
Our friend and colleague, and Kallimos board member, Dr. Al Power, is a world-renowned geriatrician, author and dementia expert, who offers us a different view of dementia.
People living with dementia are experiencing the world differently than you and I are.
Just as you are experiencing the world differently than you did when you were eighteen.
The behaviors that we have assigned to their illness are not caused by the disease. They are the result of their human needs not being met.
Dr. Power tells us that “all behavior has meaning.” When we know the person well, and focus on the whole person, we can better meet those unmet needs that may be expressed in a negative way.
In Kallimos, we see the person, not the dementia. When we are present with them, and focus our love on them, they feel less alone, less afraid, less lost, just as we all would.
In Kallimos, we care for the person, not their “memory.”