Thompson Howard Home INNOVATIVE HOLISTIC MEMORY CARE

Kayla Howard is a woman with

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vision. After spending 16 years working in various capacities serving patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, she was disheartened by the standard treatment and intervention protocols. It broke her heart to see her patients, primarily elderly, enter a cycle of crisis, emergency rooms, hospitalizations and the far too common usage of psychotropic drugs to end a crisis. Kayla knew there had to be a better way, not only for the patient but for caregivers, staff and families. Thus, the plans for the Thompson Howard Home began.

The plans for the Thompson Howard Home include a 2022 opening date. It will be a residential facility, with room for approximately 30 residents. A site for the facility has been selected in Mapleton, North Dakota. Rhet Architecture is working with Kayla on facility design. Kayla is working with the Dakota Medical Foundation and Innovate ND, as well as experts all over the country to navigate the process, including NDSBA, Women’s Business Center, SCORE, the NICE Center, and other mentors in the field.

The Home will raise the standard of care by employing non-pharmacological interventions during times of distress caused by forms of dementia. Non-pharmacological interventions include a variety of modalities, like massage, music, animals, aromatherapy and light therapy. During times of distress, these methods can be used to calm a loved one down, reducing and potentially eliminating the use of drugs. These therapies will be in regular use, with a goal being to avoid times of distress entirely.

Family involvement is a crucial aspect of the Thompson Howard Home. From the beginning stages of the admission process all the way through to end-of-life care, the Home will require the family to be deeply involved with the care of their loved one. The Home’s inclusive, holistic approach will eliminate the need to ever change care facilities. This includes providing an in-depth timeline of the incoming resident’s life. Ultimately, this leads to the Home being able to understand and relate better to the resident, especially when they are in distress.

The goals of the Thompson Howard Home are to enhance the quality care standards for dementia, to educate families and the community on how to effectively engage with this population, and to empower the staff on all levels.

enhance the quality care standards for dementia,

Key to achieving these goals is the staff. The staff at Thompson Howard Home will have higher educational requirements than are currently standard in similar treatment facilities. All staff will be dementia-care certified, with the requirement of quarterly recertification in dementia care and