In the three years since Memory Lane Cottage opened in New Tampa, it has helped many individuals and families cope with the challenges that come with dementia-related diseases.
“Coming to terms with a family member’s dementia or Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis isn’t easy, and choosing a compassionate environment for your loved one’s long-term care can be equally daunting,” said Robert Matrazzo, chief operating officer. “At Memory Lane Cottage, we are dedicated to providing a loving, intimate, memory-care environment where residents retain a sense of independence and dignity.”
Memory Lane Cottage houses just 20 residents. There are no long hallways for residents to navigate, and all resident suites open directly to a common area with living and dining rooms located next to the kitchen, a floor plan very similar to a private home.
Residents also enjoy the outdoors, with the Cottage’s 13,000-square-foot, enclosed courtyard that has gardening stations, water features and walking paths to encourage residents to explore and enjoy the outdoors in a safe setting.
It was Memory Lane Cottage’s exclusive on memory care, and its limited number of residents, that attracted Administrator Rhonda Travland.
“Because we’re not trying to be everything to everyone, we can focus 100 percent on memory care residents,” said Travland, who has 30 years experience in senior care management. “We do not offer independent living or assisted living, and this makes us really unique.”
A common problem for people with dementia, said Travland, is sensory overload in loud, noisy and crowded environments, because memory-care residents cannot easily process information in a crowd.
“At Memory Lane, residents are not overwhelmed by the business of a large community with constant distractions and noises,” Travland said. “The beauty of our community is its design to look and feel like a luxury estate home.”
To simulate this luxury home setting feel, a mailbox is in the courtyard for residents to check. Waist-high gardening stations offer familiar exercise and recreation without the physical strain of having to bend. And, the scent of cinnamon baked goodies wafts regularly from an open kitchen to stimulate residents’ appetites.
Travland has personal experience with loved ones with dementia. When her grandmother was diagnosed with dementia, it changed her life and greatly influenced her decisions to earn college degrees in gerontology and nursing home administration.
“As a teen, my grandmother developed vascular dementia, and my family had no idea what their rights were, or what the disease course was going to be like for my grandmother. Dementia can splinter families, as it did in my own family,” said Travland said.
“And then, when I was a nursing home administrator, my husband started showing signs of young onset dementia when he was just 38,” she continued. “So I know dementia from a personal and professional perspective, and my experiences can help families because I have empathy on both sides.”
Families and their input are important to the Memory Lane Cottage community, and management always listens to families to gauge the level of service they provide.
“Memory Lane Cottage is an answer to a prayer for our family,” said Matrazzo, reading a letter from a resident’s family member. “The staff shows such care, and the facility is so warm and homelike. They have thought of every possible detail to ensure a wonderful experience for my mother’s life here.”
Memory Lane Cottage can be found on Cypress Preserve Drive off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, just south of Interstate 75. For more information, call (813) 632-1270 or visit MemoryLaneCottage.com.
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