Fountain View, the assisted living arm of Friendship Village Sunset Hills, has opened a new memory care neighborhood and program, according to Director Erin Rogers.

With the Alzheimer Association’s St. Louis Chapter calculating 110,000 living with impaired memory in Missouri and more than 5 million nationally, Rogers cited the need for expanded residences and services to help families with the heavy responsibilities of memory loss care.

Fountain View’s new memory care neighborhood, constructed from existing assisted living apartments, consists of 10 apartments each with a sitting room, bedroom, walk-in closet, shower and kitchenette set near a large communal country kitchen and living room.

“The neighborhood provides private apartment space and makes the community living situation conducive to those with memory loss. Memory-loss sufferers often find a larger community daunting, so we limit the neighborhood to 10 apartments and a defined area,” Rogers stated in a news release.

She indicated that residents in a larger community can begin to withdraw when memory loss occurs.

“It can be an early warning sign,” Rogers stated.

While assuring safety and security, the neighborhood, according to Rogers, delivers not only a manageable environment, but professionally trained staff and a specialized memory care program.

“We operate a close family environment with residents helping with everyday tasks. The staff works a 12-hour shift so whoever greets residents in the morning stays with them all day. Consistency and familiarity help with memory problems,” she stated.

Memory boxes, which represent residents’ individuality, hang outside each apartment door. Filled by residents and their families, the boxes contain samples of past hobbies and interests, favorite colors, pertinent newspaper articles or awards — whatever speaks to a resident’s individuality and character, according to the release.

Program activities range from exercise classes, reminiscence, bingo and card games, art and musical therapy and more.

Although the staff sets a calendar, they respond flexibly and spontaneously to residents’ wishes, according to Rogers.

Fresh air comes from a shuttered balcony in the neighborhood enlivened by plants and greenery and from the pastoral setting of the 58-acre campus of Friendship Village Sunset Hills and Fountain View Assisted Living.

With the new neighborhood not completely full, Rogers encourages applicants, but said they must qualify for assisted living, which means exhibiting a certain amount of mobility and transferring capacity.

Nothing at this point treats, cures or prevents Alzheimer’s, Rogers noted, so memory care neighborhoods and programs remain crucial. Some light exists on the horizon, however, with the signing of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act in 2011 and the government’s goal of determining effective treatment by 2025, she added.