Memory-care home celebrates three years; assisted living house next
MOSCOW – Three challenging but rewarding years for Hill House Memory Care have brought community regard and requests for more – so a second senior care home is under construction and set to open around May or June.
“The community has been really pleased with what Hill House provides,” said Nate Bartlett, administrator and RN. “We should be swinging trusses this week on the new home.”
Named GreenHaven, it is located at the corner of Sand Road/West Palouse Hills Drive and Augustine Street in southwest Moscow. It will offer assisted living, rather than the dementia/Alzheimer’s care that Hill House provides.
GreenHaven is named in honor of an Oregon apple orchard/farm owned by Bartlett’s grandparents. Similarly, Hill House was begun by owner Bonnie Hill Sampson, descendant of a longtime area farm family, after she struggled to find the right Moscow senior care community for her 90-year-old father.
“Hill House is as much like home as possible,” Bartlett said, “not a campus or hotel or institution. We have clinical experience, but it’s hidden. This is just a big home.”
Retaining competency with dignity
“We consider our mission ‘comfort and joy,’ ” he said. “We are palliative care; we aren’t here to ‘fix’ anything. We prioritize joy over safety, and we don’t point out residents’ mistakes. We are trying to preserve their memories and contentment, and help them die with some dignity.”
For example, one woman thrives on watering (sometimes drowning, but that’s just fine) the small raised gardens and apple trees, which she accesses by crossing the concrete Hill House courtyard.
“Could she fall, break a hip?” Bartlett asks. “Maybe. But she is satisfied and happy.” And she is exercising a level of ability and independence that she still possesses. This perspective is paramount at Hill House and is made clear to the families who choose the home for their loved ones.
“We are more care partners than care givers. We help residents do the things they like and still can do,” Bartlett said. “Perhaps they can still brush their teeth or bake cookies; they just need help to get started.”
“When we help, they can do a lot, still use the skills they have. And they are happier and less combative.”
Comfort and joy
“Our residents enjoy music; rhythm-based skills don’t leave,” Bartlett said. Most days at Hill House include music from visiting choirs, perhaps karaoke or dancing to music, or sometimes Bartlett will play the home’s piano.
“They like food,” he continued. “We use fresh food – often from the small farmstand up the road. We use salt and sugar, not a lot, but so the food tastes good.”
At least, it does to most residents. He recalled one woman who said, “ ‘This food tastes like sh*t’ … uhh, she was pretty spicy.” So they asked what she wanted: Kentucky Fried Chicken strips. And that’s what they got her – one strip for dinner each evening.
A diabetic resident got healthy enough on the Hill House menu to relinquish his insulin. And residents are not typically on a multitude of confusing vitamin and supplement pills; the diet provides much of what they need, Bartlett said.
As do competent, well-trained and caring staff, many of whom are young – perhaps area students or newly Certified Nursing Assistants.
Building friendships among memories
“I enjoy connecting new generations with the past,” Bartlett said. “One resident who likes music was trying to describe and find ‘that round thing that sometimes skips,’ meaning a record album. Staff weren’t sure what he meant.”
“Everyone here grew up going to dances – at the grange or school or a barn dance,” Bartlett said. “Our residents dance better than they walk. Most of our young staff don’t know how to dance.”
“They need to understand where our residents’ memories are and interact with them there,” he said. “Our residents still have a lot to offer, especially to the younger generation; we just need to take the time to listen.”
Staffing has been a challenge, Bartlett said, “but word has got around that this is a good place to work. The last six months, especially – there is a divine hand in all of this, because it has gone really well.”
Well enough for a second senior care home; and after that, who knows?
“I’m not opposed to a third home,” Bartlett said. Perhaps skilled nursing or another memory care place: “We will see what the need is. We want to serve our neighbors and keep people’s memories alive. That is a huge honor.”
Learn more about Hill House at hillhouseliving.com.
By the numbers
Resident occupancy: Hill House 16; GreenHaven 16.
Waiting list: Hill House 16; GreenHaven 4.
Cost: Hill House $8500 per month; GreenHaven about $6500-$7500 per month, depending on level of assisted care needed. Long-term care insurance is accepted but not Medicaid.
Staffing: Hill House 3 staff daytime, 2 overnight; GreenHaven 2 daytime, 2 overnight. Always an RN on call.
Staff pay: Both homes $16-$22 per hour, depending on certification and experience.
Home size: Hill House 76,000 square feet; GreenHaven 88,200 square feet. Both homes include private bedrooms with individual heating/cooling and private baths with walk-in showers. The common areas are designed for easy navigation; they are spacious with much natural light and uniform flooring throughout.
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About The Author
Cynthia King
Cynthia King grew up in Moscow and earned a journalism degree from the University of Idaho. She worked 20 years reporting and editing for the daily newspaper in Helena, Mont., and 14 years for WSU News.