“You want them to stay  independent as long as they can,” she said. “So, I loved all of that.” 

As Jim’s dementia progressed, having familiar faces around helped him and his family feel more comfortable through his transitions to Assisted Living and Memory Care—instead of having to start over with new people in a new place each time.

“Early on, if he forgot about an activity, his friends would come a-knocking,” Stephanie said. “Then when the dementia really started progressing, it was scary for him—but people knew him, and they would guide him to where he needed to go after he switched rooms. It gave him a sense of calm.”

Jim’s family knew they wanted to be involved with his care, and they have worked closely with 10 Wilmington staff to make him as comfortable as possible in each level of care, especially Memory Care. He spends his time engaged with activities like puzzles and sing-alongs. When he is ready to relax, he has a private, familiar space of his own.

“Jim has an awesome room, and it’s all his style. It’s how he decorates,” she said. “The staff was great with everything—they were fine with taking his closet doors down to make room for his chest, and a maintenance guy even spent half a day helping him hang all his pictures.”  

For families who may be considering a community with a continuum of care available, Stephanie encourages them to focus on a community that allows family to remain involved during the transitions. 

"It will take a couple of months for them to acclimate. So be involved a lot in the beginning, for three or four months—not three or four weeks, or three or four days—to help them feel comfortable.” 

During his transitions, Stephanie enjoyed visiting Jim more frequently and walking the grounds with him at 10 Wilmington Place.

“It is hard, no matter what,” she said. “It’s not going to be perfect, and it’s going to take a while to get everybody on the same page, and there’s stuff all over the page. 

But I think sometimes you have to stick it out and remember that 

Stephanie feels peace of mind as a result of the attention and care Jim receives from staff. She also finds comfort in the fact that she’s personally gotten to know them so well over the past six years. “It’s little things like helping him hang pictures in his room that helped staff get to know him, and he became kind of like a family member!”