A $6.1 million facility offering a Montessori-based approach to memory loss care will open next fall in Kennewick.

Called Windsong at Southridge, the 36,202-square-foot building will feature 56 private studio apartments, each with their own private bathroom and shower.

It will be on four acres at 4000 24th Ave., off Highway 395 near Home Depot.

The facility, which will have two wings, will feature a full commercial kitchen with a full-time chef, two interior courtyards, four television rooms, two activity kitchens and two Montessori rooms for activities.

The Montessori approach is typically used with children. The method values the development of the whole person — physical, social, emotional and cognitive. Montessori classrooms often include multi-age groupings to foster peer learning, uninterrupted blocks of work time and guided choice of work activity.

Montessori-based dementia care focuses on muscle memory, the five senses and building on existing skills, interests and abilities.

Stacey Flint, Windsong’s regional marketing director and Montessori trainer, said Windsong’s approach works with seniors to tap into their history and senses by offering a hands-on learning environment. She’s said it’s all about finding opportunities.

“For example, most people cook for themselves their whole lives. They still retain that ability on some level. They’re able to do the art of daily living. We give them choices about what they want to do, what they want to wear for the day and to brush their own teeth,” she said.

Flint said Windsong staff are trained to think about what the residents would be doing if they didn’t have the disease.

“If we can act as a catalyst for them to still actively participate in their lives and we seek out that opportunity and try to recreate them. We come to where they are now,” she said.

She said traditional methods of care in which family and memory care facilities do everything for seniors doesn’t help them.

“By doing that, we further disable them. We take away their ability,” she said.

Flint said the Windsong communities aren’t hospital-like environments (where patients are sick and need to be taken care of), prison-like (where they are viewed as dangerous to themselves and others) or hotel-like (where their every whim is catered to).

“Nobody lives their lives that way. We strive for a home environment where you are basically tied to the greater world and you participate in your lives. You can participate in how your day is defined and that’s what we’re shooting for,” she said.

Windsong residents prepare their food using real knives and use ovens to cook, Flint said.

“We don’t plan to the lowest common denominator. Safety is a thing but we’re not going to take away your awareness and dignity,” she said.

Flint said Windsong staff look at “Montessori” as a verb and ask, “How are we going to Montessori that?”

An expert in the method, Cameron Camp, a research scientist in gerontology and dementia intervention, serves as Windsong’s mentor and helps to train its staff. He’ll visit the Tri-Cities and speak at a public event about the method before the facility opens.

“We want the whole industry to be better,” Flint said.

The Kennewick operation will be managed by Salem, Oregon-based Aidan Health Services.

There will be seven full-time administrative staff members, as well as a full-time registered nurse and one specialized care staff member for every seven to eight residents.

When the facility is full, it’s expected to employ 50 people.

“We always say our staff has their regular job and a job on top of that, which is the whole Montessori piece. It’s kind of the flair,” she said.

Kennewick Memory Care LLC, an Oregon limited liability company, bought the four-acre Southridge property for $1.1 million on Oct. 9, according to Benton County Assessor’s Office records.

The project will be Vista Pointe Development’s fourth.

Windsong also operates facilities in Salem, Oregon, and in Fort Collins and Greeley, both in northern Colorado.

Oregon-based Lenity Architecture is the architect. Bouten Construction of Richland is the general contractor.