Care Services
Lakeside Gardens provides all the services an elderly person normally needs. However, WE DO NOT TACK ON AN EXTRA CHARGE TO PROVIDE THEM. They are ALL included in the basic price. Check out what your family member would get in the basic rate...
Delicious home cooked meals
Because food is so central to a sense of well being, Lakeside Gardens pays special attention to providing the highest quality food for our residents. Dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian and any other special diet can easily be accommodated. Low sodium and lower fat diets are easily maintained because Lakeside Gardens does not use processed food. Even our soups are homemade to ensure the nutritional value is maintained without compromising taste. Our resident's enjoy cookies, brownies, muffins, corn bread and other homemade baked goods on an almost daily basis. We also encourage our residents and their families to submit their favorite recipes for us to prepare in the Lakeside Gardens kitchen.
Laundry
Lakeside Gardens handles all our resident's laundry needs. Sheets, towels, personal clothing are washed on a weekly or as needed basis.
Housekeeping
Because we know that your environment adds to your sense of comfort and well being, Lakeside Gardens provides daily housekeeping. The staff will make your bed and clean your bathroom daily. We will also vacuum and dust on a weekly basis or more frequently as needed.
Activities
Activities are one of the most important things we do at Lakeside Gardens. Activities are not just to keep busy, but to offer meaningful activities designed to the interests and needs of our residents. In addition, we play games, do crafts, bake cookies, go for walks, watch movies, play memory enhancing games, reminisce, have manicures and beauty days, parties, picnics, outings, puzzles and many other things that are of specific interest to our residents.
Assistance with bathing
One serious issue seniors face is to safely bathe. So we give special consideration to every client's bathing needs. Whether they choose a shower or bath, extra floor mats or towels will be placed on the floor for traction. A caregiver will either be assisting with getting in and out of the bath, helping with the bath/shower itself, or waiting outside the door for any emergencies.
Like Margaret, in the case examples, some resident's use bathing time for unwinding and look forward to it throughout the day. For those who have made bathing an event throughout their lives, we try hard to give them the same relaxing and intimate experience that they've always set up for themselves, whether using bubble bath, extra room heaters, or warm fluffy towels, maybe even a head message.
Assistance with toileting
While maintaining as much privacy as possible, we will do everything to insure the best of hygiene during toileting. We also supply toilet booster seats and hand rails when appropriate to help make toileting easier and keep independence to the highest level possible.
Medication assistance
Our trained caregivers dutifully assist with medicines for each resident throughout the day. Though never forcing a medicine against a client's will, our caregivers will patiently work with each resident to make sure that all medicines are comfortably taken on time and in the proper dose. Of course complete and detailed charts of medicine use are carefully documented.
Care administration
Once someone moves into Lakeside Gardens, they gain an advocate. Lakeside Gardens will work proactively on the client's behalf to adapt medicines, treatments, and activities for the best good of the client. In-house we've nicknamed it fine-tuning the care and don't know of any other facility that does it quite like we do.
You will find throughout this site that we give strong energy to learning and facilitating our residents passions in life. Now you know our passion.
Exercise
We consistently learn and assist the clients with any exercise programs given to them by physical therapists, occupational therapists or doctors.
We make a habit on days with good weather to take residents for walks in the garden and down the lane, always trying to enhance circulation and the cardiovascular system.
Lastly, but not least, we take pride on being the only facility that we know of that has the option of bringing a personal trainer from the fitness gyms to Lakeside Gardens to work with your family member to build or maintain strength. Many client's have come barely able to walk but have been strengthened in just a few months to enable them to walk for the remainder of their lives.
We consider exercise essential to both health and quality of life.
Beauty Services
We normally set our client's hair after their bath or shower. It's a great opportunity for a friendly chat. Doing nails is another special time between caregivers and residents. Perms and cuts can be arranged either in house or at a nearby salon, whichever the client wants.
Protective oversight for dementia
When someone has dementia, it affects all aspects of their lives. Our highly trained staff is experienced with providing protective oversight to assist our residents with the difficulties they face throughout the day. We do this by knowing where they are at, and what they are doing at any moment of the day.
Knowing them well helps us to often see their needs ahead of time. This is obviously preventative and protective. But it also establishes a trust that forms deep and meaningful relationships, just when they at at the age and circumstances of life to normally feel vulnerable. Protective oversight helps compensate for the vulnerability of their situation.
End of Life Care/Hospice
One of the most traumatic time in life is the end of life. But it doesn't have to be. We are strong believers in the benefits of hospice and believe that your loved one would much comforted to die in a home that they know with their friends and loved ones around than in a sterile hospital environment. After your family member adapts to living at Lakeside Gardens, it really does become home.
Here's the good thing. We've invited hospice to help with end of life for almost 20 years. Hospice sometimes in humor refers to us as hospice north.
And we're glad. Hospice can adapt to changing needs of a dying family members in a way that the regular medical system can only dream of. That's one of the main reasons that hospice exists. And we're right there with our constant care and oversight to make this experience one of comfort and care instead of worry and fear what to do next.
RN Foot Care services
We regularly bring in an RN to monitor and treat the skin on the feet as well as treat and cut the toenails. We call it Spa Day. It begins with turning on relaxing music throughout the house speakers and having everybody wrapped in blankets with their feet bubbling in warm foot spas. Then the foot care nurse takes turns treating each clients' feet.
Spa Day then continues with caregivers and volunteers coming and doing all the ladies' fingernails with their favorite polish, setting and combing out their hair, and putting on their prettiest clothes. It's enough to make everybody feel beautiful and want to go out on the town. And yes, that's what then often happens.
Wander Alert available (for exit seekers)
Lakeside Gardens doesn't code lock their doors. People are here by choice and may leave by choice. We have notification alarms on the doors so we can always know where everybody is for their safety. After all, you hire us to give that extra oversight.
There are times when dementia causes a desire to constantly wander off. For those we suggest extra monitoring through Wander Alert, a system that will give us exact location of the resident anywhere he might go. It's an important protection and it's available at Lakeside Gardens.
Call Bells
Lakeside Gardens has up to 16 call bells assigned to different resident's for their use. Depending on the call bell we know exactly which resident has called and usually what he/she might want. One of the wonderful things about a small setting amply staffed is that call bells are answered immediately every time. It builds a sense of security with the residents and significantly reduces their frustration.
Professional and Knowledgeable Staff
Darla is a gerontologist (a specialist in the needs of the senior population. Douglas is finishing his doctorate in Natural Medicine. They have over 40 years of caregiving experience between them. Kelly, our head caregiver, has 22 years of caregiving experience and is a career caregiver. Currently, all of our other caregivers are either career caregivers or working towards their RN degree.
Imagine going out to hire a team to look after your family member. You wouldn't find a more experienced and well-rounded team as this. What makes it even better is that we've made this exclusive care actually affordable.
Peace of Mind – Knowing Someone is Always There
We try hard to stay out of our client's way, not hovering over them, yet trying to be easily available when requested or needed. It's a delicate balancing act that over time we have become good at.
There is always staff at work to help your family member, whether your family member sees us or not. We're always around close by giving the consistent and continuous oversight that you desire for the well-being of your family member. And isn't that what you want? Not only does it give your loved one peace of mind. We hope it will give you peace of mind as well.