Learning about Places from the Past: A Visit to Providence Mount St. Vincent Continuing Care Facility

It has systematically been found in E-B research and literature that residents in skilled nursing and long term care (LTC) who feel their environment is responsive to their efforts, choices, and actions tend to enjoy better health than older adults who feel that they do not have control in their lives. Yet the relationship between life in long term care and resident well-being is a complex one. While the need to be moved from home into LTC may be necessary for both health and safety reasons, this move can lead to a loss of connections with family, friends and important grounding routines of home.

Led by the Environment-Gerontology Knowledge Network, this mobile session will visit Providence Mount St. Vincent Continuing Care Facility, located in West Seattle, about a 10-minute ride from the EDRA43 hotel. Providence Mount St. Vincent is one of the first skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. to focus on how the environment and person-centered care can impact LTC resident outcomes. The 195 resident skilled nursing center has neighborhoods and clusters of private and shared rooms for about 20 residents each. Merely by the implied structure of a residentially scaled shared living setting with a living room, dining room and kitchen, individuals have opportunities to create reciprocal relationships and associations that are similar to the concept of family ties. These ties are implicit in the formation of attachment to place, as well as a sense of identity. In addition, by living in small group settings, there are opportunities to reconnect with former home roles and tasks, (i.e., cooking, cleaning, socializing in the kitchen), which again can create the foundation for autonomy and validation.

Registration Fees:
Members: $35 early-regular/$45 late
Non members: $40 early-regular/$50 late

Click here to register