Molly PavlovichMECHANICSBURG, PA — Today, Messiah Lifeways® at Messiah Village held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of its new Asper Courtyard and the donors and team members who made this beautiful outdoor space possible.
The Asper Courtyard is connected to Messiah Lifeways’ Asper Neighborhood—a memory care nursing neighborhood that offers specialized nursing services that promote individuality and dignity for those with a dementia diagnosis such as Alzheimer’s disease. This new outdoor space was created with memory care residents and their needs specifically in mind, so that they can have a space to enjoy time outside with their families and friends.
The secured Courtyard features wheelchair-accessible gardening planters for residents to engage in hands-on gardening activities, tables and chairs for gathering, and a variety of non-toxic flowers and plants. Creative programming will be offered in the space to provide residents with the opportunity to safely enjoy outdoor living.
As part of this ribbon-cutting ceremony, Messiah Lifeways also announced a partnership with Central Penn College to provide employees, beginning with those who work in memory care neighborhoods, with continued dementia education. With the help of grant funding and generous donors, the two six-hour training sessions will be held on campus and touch on topics such as the types of dementia, communication strategies, understanding repetitive behaviors and expressions, cultural competency, and end-of-life care.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve the services we provide to residents and their families at Messiah Lifeways,” said Messiah Lifeways’ President and CEO Karl Brummer. “Thanks to the many generous donors, hardworking team members, and the thoughtful guidance of Central Penn College, all of whom helped make these opportunities possible, I see these two new resources on campus as great strides toward these goals.”
Messiah Lifeways plans to expand these training sessions to all new hires and current team members in the future, to ensure that they’re living their mission of serving older adults with Christ-like love across the community, and throughout residents’ varying levels of need.
“It was clear from the beginning that Messiah Lifeways and Central Penn College share a common vision to provide holistic dementia care trainings that are personalized and fit the unique needs of the dementia population and their care providers,” said Dr. Kimberly Tanish, Director for the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program. “We are excited to see this partnership move forward, further helping to educate team members about dementia, while giving families peace of mind that their loved ones are receiving the very best care possible.”
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Molly Foster, Communications Manager at Messiah Lifeways | 717.383.2727 (cell) | mfoster@messiahlifeways.org
Diane McNaughton, Communications and Marketing Specialist at Central Penn College | 717.303.8320 (cell) | dianemcnaughton@centralpenn.edu
