Messiah Lifeways Strengthens its Support for Memory Care Residents with a New Courtyard, a Partnership with Central Penn College
MECHANICSBURG, PA— Today, Messiah Lifeways at MessiahVillage held a ribbon-cuttingceremony to celebrate the completion of its new Asper Courtyard and the donors and teammembers who made this beautiful outdoor space possible.
The Asper Courtyard is connected to Messiah Lifeways’ Asper Neighborhood—a memory carenursing neighborhood that offers specialized nursing services that promote individuality anddignity for those with a dementia diagnosis such as Alzheimer’s disease. This new outdoor spacewas created with memory care residents and their needs specifically in mind, so that they canhave a space to enjoy time outside with their families and friends.
The secured Courtyard features wheelchair-accessible gardening planters for residents to engagein hands-on gardening activities, tables and chairs for gathering, and a variety of non-toxicflowers and plants. Creative programming will be offered in the space to provide residents withthe opportunity to safely enjoy outdoor living.
As part of this ribbon-cutting ceremony, Messiah Lifeways also announced a partnership withCentral Penn College to provide the employees, beginning with those who work in memory careneighborhoods, with continued dementia education. With the help of grant funding and generousdonors, the two six-hour training sessions will be held on campus and touch on topics such as thetypes of dementia, communication strategies, understanding repetitive behaviors andexpressions, cultural competency, and end-of-life care.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve the services we provide to our residents and theirfamilies at Messiah Lifeways,” said Messiah Lifeways’ President and CEO Karl Brummer.“Thanks to the many generous donors, hardworking team members, and the thoughtful guidanceof Central Penn College, all of whom helped make these opportunities possible, I see these twonew resources on campus as great strides toward these goals.”
Messiah Lifeways plans to expand these training sessions to all new hires and current teammembers in the future, to ensure that they’re living their mission of serving older adults withChrist-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 acommon vision to provide holistic dementia care trainings that are personalized and fit theunique 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 partnershipmove forward, further helping to educate team members about dementia, while giving familiespeace of mind that their loved ones are receiving the very best care possible.”
About Messiah Lifeways®:
Founded in 1896, Messiah Lifeways is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving older adultsthroughout South Central Pennsylvania. Messiah Lifeways offers resident communities,long-term care, rehabilitation, enrichment opportunities, and community support services tosupport as many people as possible through the journey of aging. For more information,visit MessiahLifeways.org.
About Central Penn College:
Central Penn College empowers students to transform potential into professional success. Since1881, the college has been a leading source of career-focused education for students inPennsylvania and beyond. Strategically located in Summerdale, near the seat of state governmentand major public and private employers, Central Penn College offers associate, bachelor’s andmaster’s degrees and certificate programs in a variety of professional fields. For moreinformation, visit www.centralpenn.edu.