Retirement living comes to Agoura Hills

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn BINGO!--Activities director Vickie Smith, right, reads off numbers during a bingo game at the Agoura Hills Senior Retreat. In the background playing are Katie Woodlief, left, Rudy Covington, and her granddaughter, Logan Loutzenhiser. A chamber of commerce mixer is set for 5:30 p.m. today.

Today, one in 10 people over age 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia, the umbrella term used to describe the loss of cognitive function, affects even more.

With those facts in mind, the decision to include an Alzheimer’s wing at the newly opened Agoura Hills Senior Retreat wasn’t a difficult one. Villagecare Corporate Assisted Living of Huntington Beach, the operators of the nursing home, set aside 13 of 160 rooms for Alzheimer’s patients.

The Agoura Hills Senior Retreat recently welcomed its first 25 residents, and has announced Sun., Aug. 19 as the date of its official open house. Industry professionals will attend a private ribbon cutting this afternoon, Aug. 16.

"We’re really excited. It’s so nice to see it finally coming about," said Alma Curtis, marketing director.

The 96,000 square-foot Agoura Hills Senior Retreat is at 5217 Chesebro Road. It’s licensed for 320 beds.

Only two of the first two dozen residents are Alzheimer’s patients, but Diane Atkinson, nursing home administrator, expects dementia care to grow in the years ahead.

"There’s a lot more knowledge about dementia and a lot more willingness to work with people who have it. Also, there’s been a huge increase in the population," Atkinson said.

While medical research is being tackled on many different fronts, so is the care of Alzheimer’s patients. Assisted living facilities such as the Agoura Hills Senior Retreat and Silverado in Calabasas represent a new way of thinking in how to provide effective, long term care for people with Alzheimer’s.

Rooms and common areas provide a homey, comfortable feel, yet medical assistance can arrive at a moment’s notice.

At the Agoura Hills facility, a staff of about 30 helps residents with personal care and transportation to shopping and doctor appointments. The employees include personal caregivers, administrators and food service operators. Healthcare professionals visit residents throughout the day.

Amenities include a gift store, beauty parlor, activity room, television room and courtyard. The home offers daily activities such as bingo, bridge, meetings, walks and outings. Alzheimer’s patients have tailored activities, too, but only those with milder forms of dementia are allowed to leave the grounds under supervision.

Experts today are better equipped to handle the needs of dementia patients.

"In the past they didn’t even understand about dementia," Atkinson said. "I don’t think it was something that was even discussed and it was called senility. There’s been a big change in 30 years."

Assistance at the home comes on many different levels.

A dementia patient requires one type of monitoring, but a resident who happens to be, say incontinent, has other needs. Atkinson, a 30-year professional in the field, plans to keep operations running smoothly on all fronts.

Studies show that about 150,000 seniors live within a 10-mile radius of the home. The Agoura Hills Senior Retreat will target an area shared by Silverado to the east and Hillcrest retirement home of Thousand Oaks to the west.

The Agoura Hills units range in price from $2,200 a month for a studio to $3,100 for a two-bedroom apartment.

A public open house at the Agoura Hills Senior Retreat is planned for 1 to 4 p.m. next Sun., Aug. 19.

For more information, call (818) 991-3544.