The Grande at Sterling Estates
This is a place where residents are empowered to live engaging, rewarding lives and families find support and peace of mind.
Atlanta’s Memory Care Center of Excellence: Designed for a Sterling Life
The Grande at Sterling Estates of West Cobb—a certified Memory Care Center of Excellence—offers The Sterling Life to those living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Designed with purpose and attention to detail, the community promotes independence, confidence, and comfort. This is a place where residents are empowered to live engaging, rewarding lives and families find support and peace of mind, all in a beautiful setting.
Programming with Meaning: The Hearthstone Way
After careful consideration and extensive research, The Grande at Sterling Estates of West Cobb partnered with The Hearthstone Institute to provide our Memory Care programming. Founded in 1992 by renowned memory care expert Dr. John Zeisel, Hearthstone has been a recognized leader in Alzheimer’s care for twenty years. Its mission is to create residential environments where people living with Alzheimer’s and related disorders can flourish.
Central to this partnership is Hearthstone’s I’m Still Here® programming, which is based on the belief that a person living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, is “still here” and can experience a high quality of life regardless of the degree of memory loss. Through I’m Still Here® programming, residents of live with purpose, discovery, and joy.
As a certified Memory Care Center of Excellence, The Grande at Sterling Estates integrates Hearthstone’s transformational, evidence-based training programs into our daily routines, creating opportunities for true engagement and increased quality of life for our residents living with memory challenges.
A Memory Care Facility Designed with Care and Purpose
The Grande, one of only 27 Hearthstone-certified Memory Care Centers of Excellence in the country, was designed in consultation with Dr. Zeisel to be as welcoming as it is purposeful. The single-story building offers 36 resident suites, but most importantly, the layout facilitates the I’m Still Here® approach, incorporating strategically placed I’m Still Here® Learning Stations geared to ease of movement and interaction among the residents. The hallways are wide and tall with transom windows that deliver plenty of reflective sunlight along the way to resident rooms or the engagement stations. The community also features a secure central interior therapeutic garden and courtyard.
The common rooms, the residents’ dining room, and the resident kitchen are decorated with muted earth-tones and furniture appropriate for residents. All the décor textures and furniture colors have been selected to reduce depression and agitation.
Our Approach
To provide the most exceptional experience for our residents and their families, Sterling Estates partnered with Dr. John Zeisel and The Hearthstone Institute to provide I’m Still Here® programming within our new Memory Care community. Hearthstone is a recognized world leader in the development and utilization of non-pharmacologic interventions for persons with memory challenges. This is the quality and integrity in Memory Care that we demand for our residents. Nothing less will do.
The I’m Still Here® approach is based on the belief that a person living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, is “still here” and can experience a high quality of life regardless of the degree of memory loss.
Experiences. Not Busy Work.
I’m Still Here recognizes that meaningful engagement for our Memory Care residents increases their quality of life. More importantly, it decreases the severity and frequency of most common symptoms of dementia known as the four A’s of Alzheimer’s: Apathy, Anxiety, Agitation and Aggression.
Meaningful programs and activities offered within I’m Still Here® replace busy work with:
- a full social life
- new learning experiences
- group participation in varied and enjoyable activities that include favorite hobbies and pastimes
People living with memory loss often feel as though they no longer have a voice or choice. I’m Still Here® offers numerous opportunities every day for residents to express their preferences and choices. The result? Increased feelings of confidence, significance, and well-being. Our residents matter.
Daily Interactive Programming and Continued Learning
At The Grande at Sterling Estates of West Cobb, we know that no two people in our care have the same needs, abilities, or likes. Understanding that each resident is unique, I’m Still Here® provides three unique Hearthstone programs, providing residents with different interactive experiences every day, throughout the day:
- Discovery provides new learning experiences and individual learning stations along with art and culture for self-expression
- Vitality welcomes residents to take part in exercise groups, stimulating discussions, social clubs, and more.
- Serenity delivers sensory experiences, cognitive stimulation, and artwork and photography that generate creative reminiscence.
Studies have shown that most people remain curious throughout their lives and enjoy learning new things, even if they’re living with memory challenges. Using Montessori-inspired methods, I’m Still Here® offers exciting group projects as well as I’m Still Here® Learning Stations to provide a wide variety of opportunities for individual discovery and learning.
Daily Engagement
Dr. John Zeisel created the innovative I’m Still Here® approach to change the way residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia live engaging, meaningful and rewarding lives. I’m Still Here® asserts that a joyful, fulfilling, active life is still possible for adults with cognitive challenges. To that end, we provide residents with innovative tools, programs and games designed to facilitate engagement every day.
I’m Still Here Learning Stations
I’m Still Here® Learning Stations are engaging places where residents have the opportunity to learn new information, revisit previous knowledge, participate in familiar tasks or experience completely new adventures. They’re located throughout The Grande to encourage independent or social engagement.
Each Learning Station is thoughtfully designed to offer topics, tasks and information based on current interests or subjects of study. While some stations emphasize opportunities to learn new information, others—such as making body scrubs and arranging flowers—encourage residents to express their creativity.
The materials at the stations are changed and updated regularly to provide an ever-changing variety of interesting and engaging things to learn and do. There are puzzles, art projects, recipes and more.
In addition to offering individualized learning experiences, Learning Stations also provide residents with an opportunity to teach and share their knowledge with others.
Scripted-IMPROV™
Scripted-IMPROV uses theater arts and creativity to support joyful, meaningful, and fulfilling lives for those with memory loss. This engaging program features drama (mini plays), props, music, dancing, and role-playing to bring smiles, laughter, and unexpected responses from our residents with memory loss.
Meet Me at the Movies!
Grab your popcorn and drink and Meet Me at the Movies! This is an enjoyable theater experience designed to stimulate and engage our residents. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet Me at the Movies! is an interactive film experience. Short clips from classic films and TV shows are shown, followed by audience discussion and reminiscence, guided by one of our team members. From classic Hollywood hits to foreign films, action-adventure movies to cult classics, residents of The Grande at Sterling Estates of West Cobb are treated to showings of some of their favorite movies and TV shows.
It Takes a Village
It Takes a Village embraces our local West Cobb and Marietta communities as a powerful way to help our residents. We visit museums, the symphony, and other cultural venues. This is a rich opportunity to get out to our Marietta community, visit with our neighbors, and have some fun, too.
Hearthside Book Club®
The Hearthside Book Club incorporates specialized reading materials specially adjusted for individuals with varying stages of dementia. The books have built-in questions, cues, and other helpful features that help our staff engage with our residents, creating positive interaction. The Hearthside Book Club includes many favorite topics such as: Alfred Hitchcock, James Cagney, and Glenn Miller biographies, Books that Became Movies, Rosie the Riveter, Tourism, and more.