NORFOLK, Va. — A new dementia care center in Norfolk is taking a non-traditional approach to help families caring for loved ones with cognitive decline.
The Silver Care Dementia Center has officially opened Lashley Village, a nonprofit adult daycare program operating from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. The hours are designed to give caregivers time for themselves while their loved ones receive care, meals and activities in a homestyle setting.
“So Silver Care Dementia Center is a nonprofit 501c3 where we offer various programs,” said Erica Jones, co-founder and executive director. “We create innovative respite care programs for people living with dementia and to help their care partners with self-care. So we’re having a grand opening here at Silver Care Center for we call the Lashley Village.”
Jones said the center is named after her grandparents, both of whom she and her husband cared for over the course of eight years. Her grandfather had vascular dementia.
“With the Lashley Village we’re doing something different,” Jones said. “It is an adult daycare… but we’re offering the Lashley Village at non-traditional hours. So from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday for right now. So that way they can bring their loved ones for a hot meal, engage in activities, or even just some rest while their loved ones go and shopping, go to the movies or do some things that they want to do for their self-care.”
The center includes a sensory and quiet room, an outdoor space, and two large multipurpose rooms, all with cognitive stimulation in mind. Jones said the facility will take up to 18 participants a night, staffed by three to five employees depending on need.
“Having this homestyle community feel is great to have them come and not just be at a facility but to be able to come where they can relax and feel like they’re still at home,” she said.
Jones said she hopes families see the center as a resource not just for those with dementia, but for caregivers who often sacrifice their own well-being.
“Well, I want them to take away that this is a safe space for them and to be able to entrust us to be able to take care of their loved ones because they need self-care themselves, right?” she said. “So they need that strength and to rebuild their strength to be able to continue to take care of their loved ones.”
The Alzheimer’s Association reports that dementia is already a major public health challenge in Virginia. The organization says:
- 164,000 people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s in Virginia.
- 16.3% of people aged 45 and older have subjective cognitive decline.
- 346,000 family caregivers provide care for loved ones in the state.
- Those caregivers provide 670 million hours of unpaid care, valued at $14.2 billion.
- Alzheimer’s costs Virginia’s Medicaid program $1.4 billion each year.
Jones said those numbers reflect the reality she has seen in Hampton Roads.
“Oh yeah, so looking at the 757 area, you could say one out of every 14 households, there’s someone that has some form of dementia,” she said. “They’re expecting that to double over the next 25 years so I do believe it’s important that we find that support that is needed to help families… to feel comfortable to be able to help their loved ones stay in their home if possible and give them other alternatives if they don’t have any.”
Lashley Village is now accepting intakes, and Jones said a promotional offer will be announced in September. Families can learn more by visiting www.scdcva.org.
