Senior Retreat to make room for more Alzheimer's patients
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

The Agoura Hills Senior Retreat is making room for additional special care residents.

Brenda Hans, executive director of the Agoura Hills retreat, spoke to the Agoura Hills Planning Commission on April 3 about the need for more special care rooms.

Aging residents suffer from dementia, Alzheimer's or other conditions that require "special care," said Hans.

"Some residents have become memory impaired," Hans said. Instead of moving them to a new facility, she asked for approval to redesignate additional rooms for special care residents.

"They've been with us for quite a while," Hans said of residents who need more supervision now that they are more forgetful or have developed Alzheimer's. She said when memory problems become severe, residents might "wander off" and therefore need more supervision.

The senior retreat staff assists memory impaired and Alzheimer's residents in all facets of their day-to-day lives. They need help walking, eating, bathing, dressing and toileting, according to the planning commission report, and also need to be monitored through additional security measures. Extra medication management is needed for Alzheimer's residents, and most or all daily activities are supported by staff. Three to four additional staff members will be needed on each of the three daily shifts, Hans said.

Of the 175 units available at the senior retreat, only 13 rooms were designated for residents needing special care, Hans said. She asked for approval to transform an additional 28 rooms on the west wing of the first floor of the building for special care and Alzheimer's residents. In all, the facility will have 41 units for special care residents.

"We do not want to discriminate against seniors that have or develop dementia," wrote Joe Bednar, owner of the Agoura Hills Senior Retreat, to the planning commission. "Residents who develop dementia during their residency would have the opportunity to stay in a familiar environment at their critical time of need."

Commissioner Curtis Zacuto said, "The population is aging, and there's an increasing need for it. A lot of people are touched by a family member with memory impairment."

The planning commission unanimously passed the motion to redesignate rooms for special care residents.