Hopkinton Crier
June 2000

Personal touch
Hearthstone Alzheimer's Care services go the distance for residents

By D. Craig MacCormack
Crier Staff Writer

Eugene Ball had a couple of reasons to celebrate on May 29. Not only was it Memorial Day, but it was also his 80th birthday. Ball's daughter, Doreen Difazio of Hopkinton, and her family brought a cake to her father at Hearthstone at Golden Pond to mark the occasion and even sang "Happy Birthday" to the day's honoree.

But Ball wanted nothing to do with the birthday party. It wasn't that he was not appreciative of his daughter's effort. It was just that Ball, who is afflicted with dementia, wanted to rejoin the group of residents singing songs at the West Main Street facility that afternoon.

"We came in to celebrate his birthday and he wanted to go back with the group because he was having so much fun," said Difazio of her father, "That's a good sign."

But Difazio said that's not uncommon and it's not surprising based on the personal touch she's seen her father get since he moved to the facility in August 1995. In that time, the staff has secured a walker and bed rails for Ball and also brought him to the hospital when the family was on vacation.

Ball lived with the Difazios for about a year but the family found it increasingly difficult to care for him after he had a stroke. That's when his daughter found Golden Pond, and eventually Hearthstone when his mental state began to worsen.

"He started having a really tough time and it just got harder for us to be able to take care of him," said Difazio. "We looked for a place that wasn't like a nursing home and that's how we found it.

"They are very caring people. They try to stimulate the residents there with activities they enjoy. They really try to work with the families to meet the needs of everyone there."

Hearthstone Alzheimer Care, which houses patients with Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia, is divided into two sections: life quality and enhanced life. The sections are securely locked at all times and residents' needs are more appropriately addressed by dividing them this way, said McKinney.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, which is the loss of intellectual and social abilities severe enough to interfere with daily functioning. A person with Alzheimer's experiences progressively increasing impairment of memory thinking, reasoning, and language. Personality changes can also occur.

In the life quality section, where Ball lives, residents enjoy a number of activities, including bowling, golf, an intergenerational program with the day care center in the same building, and pet therapy. Life quality residents are very independent, but need a little help during their daily routines.

In the enhanced life section, there is a nutritional feeding program and residents are required to walk every day and go through range of motion exercises. Residents are more closely supervised in the enhanced life section, where cases of dementia are more severe. Hearthstone has offered enhanced life services for the last two years.

Outside all residents' rooms are collages featuring pictures and other mementos from the residents' lives, which not only helps them find their rooms but also helps the staff learn more about each person.

"We try to develop a very upbeat, happy environment," said Hearthstone Alzheimer Care program director Pat McKinney. "We try to make them feel good about themselves and have high self-esteem.

Tina White, life quality director (at table), Eugene Ball (far left) of Hopkinton and Erna Flohe enjoy a wood crafting group at the Hearthstone Assisted Living Center

"A lot of it is basically just through talking with them. We try very hard not to take a pharmaceutical approach to health care."

Hearthstone Alzheimer Care, which has seven facilities in Massachusetts and New York, was started in Hopkinton in 1992 by Dr. Joan Hyde and Dr. John Zeisel. Nearby facilities are located in Marlborough, Brockton and Woburn. In Hopkinton, there is 24-hour supervision from registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. The unit also features a beauty shop and visits from a podiatrist.

The staff ratio of five to one in the life quality and three to one in the enhanced life unit gives the residents more of a chance to be cared for personally rather than simply as patients, said McKinney.

"It gives us all an opportunity to spend a lot more time with the residents and that's something they need," she said. "You want to try to encourage them to do as much as they can for as long as they can.

"The residents make a number of friendships with each other. They'll help each other out whenever they can or they'll just sit on the bed and talk to each other."

Difazio said the adjustment her father has made to Hearthstone and the concern they have shown for him has made her know she made the right decision to place him there.

"They really care about the person and you don't find that anywhere," she said. "They don't push the residents but they provide the stimulation and the support they need."

Difazio said her father has become the resident trivia and word game expert at Hearthstone. He also enjoys playing balloon volleyball with his fellow residents and always likes to talk baseball.

"I feel very secure that he's being taken care of," she said. "Of course we go to visit him but you never feel like you have to check on them. We can go away and not be concerned at all."

McKinney said the unique care provided at Hearthstone is a result of the exhaustive training they put staff members throuch. Included is more than 40 hours of training beyond what's required for state certification, with a trainer, nurses, the activities department and resident assistants.

"It's a very special professional skill to care for these people," she said. "The best part is the peace of mind we give the families. They can come in here and visit Mom, then go on with the rest of their lives and know she's well taken care of."