Baycrest is set to launch a new, revolutionary model of care that maximizes people’s abilities along their cognitive health journey.
Possibilities by Baycrest™ is intended to transform the care experience in residential living environments for people living with dementia and their caregivers, including family and staff.
“This is a significant change in the way we deliver care that recognizes the person behind their diagnosis and goes beyond required task-based, compliance-based care to a model where we really value people, see them and their abilities and support them along their journey,” explains Faith Malach, Executive Director of Behaviour Supports and Memory Care Programs at Baycrest.
“We respect all the care tasks that need to get done, but we are intentionally pivoting to a model that also recognizes and prioritizes the experience, the relationships, the autonomy, the choice and the purpose that people should and continue to have even with dementia.”
Malach, in consultation with a variety of Baycrest experts, is working on how to operationalize the model, which will be piloted and evaluated in a new Memory Care residence at the Terraces of Baycrest in 2022.
That means figuring out how to give people flexibility and choice in their day – when they want to get up in the morning, when and what they want to eat, and what they want to do that will give them purpose and enjoyment – rather than asking them to conform to a structured schedule.
“We are going further than other memory care models because we are home to some of the greatest research scientists at the Rotman Research Institute and understand the brain and the changes associated with dementia and aging,” says Malach. “We are able to identify new and innovative solutions and approaches that not only provide people with enjoyment, but have cognitive benefits. There is no other model that has the machine of Baycrest behind it.”