The Canopy at Walden Woods will soon be open and rooms are already filling up as Plant City embraces its first assisted living community that comes with a memory care facility.
There are 64 apartments available in the community, of which 44 are in the assisted living floors and 20 are on the memory care floor.
“I think one of the things that really sets us apart is our memory care facility,” Amanda Norman, director of sales, said. “The floor is secured so our residents that have dementia or Alzheimer’s can’t come and go as they please. It helps protect those residents who have the tendency to wander and get confused. From the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed, we encourage them to come out of their apartments and engage with their community while our staff is there assisting and monitoring them.”
The assisted living floors do not require a fob to access as the residents have the cognitive function to know to simply press a button to request assistance from a staff member. Those in assisted living also get the benefit of the social aspect of a living facility while still enjoying their own space and independence. Care for both assisted living and memory care can be customized to build on the individual resident’s strengths and promote autonomy.
For many, choosing to transition into an assisted living facility is simply a second chance at a social life. They don’t have to stress about maintaining a home, cooking and cleaning and instead can use their free time diving into hobbies they enjoy and building friendships with other residents.
“They’re not alone and watching TV all day, which can actually worsen onset dementia and lead to depression,” Norman said. “We will have a very robust calendar of events and activities available for our residents to take part in while having qualified staff available at all times to make sure our residents receive the highest quality of care.”
Some of the activities include music therapy, crafts, fitness classes, yard games, group outings, workshops, live entertainment and health seminars.
Norman said The Canopy offers a perfect solution for vastly different needs and added that another unique aspect of the facility is that it allows residents to age in place. She said approximately 25 percent of assisted living residents end up in memory care, and if they are at The Canopy the family won’t have to worry about relocating their loved ones as they develop dementia or Alzheimer’s. They can stay in their familiar space and still receive the care they need.
The facility is smaller than many others and Norman said that adds to its charm as the staff are not providing for hundreds of patients at once. The Canopy also provides Adult Daycare services for families that wish to send their loved ones to a secure facility during the day where they can receive the services they need while their caretaker uses that time to do other things. There are also options available for respite stays, or short-term stays, so if a caretaker needs to leave town they can have their loved one stay for a short period of time without committing to moving them in long-term to a facility.
As of press time, there are currently only three apartments left in the memory care facility and several openings in assisted living. The COVID-19 pandemic led to many families struggling to decide whether they should place their loved ones in a home as it meant they wouldn’t see them the entire time they were in assisted care. Now that the country is coming out the other side, Norman said families are able to come and visit their residents as much as they’d like as long as they wear a face mask. Residents can also leave for visits with their family without an issue.
In honor of its upcoming Grand Opening, The Canopy is offering several incentives for people who place a deposit before the facility officially opens. They are giving $1,500 toward buying new furniture for the resident’s apartment if the deposit is put down before it opens. Norman said the deposit is refundable if plans change, but this acts as an insurance policy for the family to make sure they have the space and floor plan they want for their loved one.
Staff are also available to chat with families and help them understand the VA benefits available, which are applicable both for veterans and the surviving spouse of a veteran. They also will walk families through the process of deciphering long-term care insurance policies.
The new facility is set to open toward the end of June and is located behind Publix at 2051 Walden Woods Drive. The building is open for tours and appointments can be scheduled by calling 813-540-9683.
For more information, visit thecanopyatwaldenwoods.com or head to Facebook and check out its page @TheCanopyatWaldenWoods.