For many older individuals, reminiscing about the halcyon days often means taking a mental trip back to a neighborhood akin to The Andy Griffith Show’s Mayberry; quiet streets lined with family owned ice cream shops, barbers, and hardware stores.
It is hard enough to find a neighborhood like that in today’s world, let alone a senior or assisted living facility, facilities that often times have a sterile, hospital-like appearance. But as inhabitant.com reports, an Ohio-based company called The Lantern is offering residents an opportunity to capture some of that small town goodness from their past.
The Lantern, which has centers in three cities, has hallways meant to look like a residential street. Each entrance to a resident’s home resembles the front of a house, complete with a front porch and rocking chairs. The hallways have carpets meant to look like grassy paths, ceilings that mimic the changing sky, and recordings of birdsongs playing in the background. In addition to the residential areas, a “Main Street” leads to a space that resembles a small downtown shopping district with street lamps and cafe tables.
Beyond just providing a more pleasing aesthetic to the residents, this type of environment has been scientifically linked to repairing memory loss in patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
The Lantern provides all the care expected from a senior assisted living facility and adds unexpected amenities such as a full-service salon with spa treatments,massage therapy, aerobics, a movie theater, fitness center, library, and a 24-hour bistro.
For more information, click here.
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