OK Memory Care Institute Opens New Space To Give Dementia Patients Purpose

The Oklahoma Memory Care Institute is doing Something Good with what it calls an “adoption center."

It's a space that aims to give dementia patients a feeling of purpose, by caring for a baby doll or stuffed animal.

Just a few steps down the hall at the Oklahoma Memory Care Institute, is a brand new "adoption center," with a nursery room, designed for people with dementia.

"It's not just about handing them that baby doll. It's about giving them the opportunity to care and nurture for that baby,” Diakonos Group COO Kimberly Green said.

Life Enrichment Coordinator Chelsea Ward interacts with residents in the space.

"We keep all their supplies in the drawer,” Ward said. “They've got swaddle blankets, they've got diapers, they've got bottles."

This space was once just a dream for Green. Now, she said it is starting to make a difference in people's lives.

"I wanted to create a place where people would not just come to exist, but would come and have purpose," Green said. "We see places like this overseas. Norway, Switzerland, they have some amazing dementia villages and things like that. And this isn't a dementia village, but we're slowly trying to create very similar spaces."

On the other side of the room, residents can adopt a lifelike pet. Aside from cats and dogs, there are guinea pigs, birds, and real fish in a tank.

"It's a nice space to come where they can come and relax and see all the other animals,” Ward said.

Green said this is just the beginning of what's to come. She envisions more spaces in the future.

"We want to create like a home office where they would pay their bills and they would write letters to their loved ones and send their Christmas cards. Of course having like an ice cream and a treat shop, a bus station,” Green said.

It’s serving as a place that goes beyond the residents' healthcare, and gives them a chance to care for something too.