The management and staff of Hilltop of Greenville Memory Care understand the changes that come with age, which fosters a unique approach to helping each member of the Hilltop community as he or she moves into this phase of life.
Not only do the Hilltop of Greenville staff members understand how these changes can be stressful for an elderly person, but they also understand and respect the families who are working to ensure the best-possible quality of life for their loved ones.
“The first thing that we have to do is understand that any individual who is going through the process of looking for a senior-living community — whether it’s assisted, independent or memory care — they’re going through the transition of life, where family members who may be helping them, when they’re talking to their parents it is starting to be different from the person they remember,” said Nick Jasmon, Vice President of Hilltop of Greenville Memory Care.
“What the families are having to navigate is not only that it’s a change, like ‘you’ve been living in the same house for the last 20 years,’ but their loved ones are also changing a little bit in their identity,” he added. “For some of these folks, they’re going from being a completely independent person to maybe someone who needs a little bit of help, and may, unfortunately — even though they shouldn’t feel like this — feel like maybe they’re becoming a burden to themselves, their loved ones and maybe even the staff in the building.”
Often these situations signal a reversal of lifetime roles, as children have to begin to care for their parents. Jasmon said the Hilltop of Greenville staff works to minimize the impact of these changes and help residents retain not only their traditional family relationships, but also their dignity. In part, that comes from respecting each resident’s life, loves and accomplishments.
“Moving into our community allows them to go back to having a parent-child relationship,” Jasmon said. “Children can come in and talk to mom like they always used to talk to her. They don’t have to worry about, ‘Is Mom having a tough day,’ or making sure she is getting her meds or is properly cared for.”
A central tenet for Hilltop of Greenville is to honor the lives of the people in the community.
“We want to help them to continue their usual activities, like going to church,” Jasmon said. “We want to keep those things alive for them. We don’t want this to feel like a day care.”
