Described as “Disneyland for seniors,” an innovative day center is set to open in Kennewick in late winter that will offer “reminiscence therapy” for adults with Alzheimer’s and dementia in a facility designed to mimic the 1950s.

“The more we can place somebody in an environment resembling something familiar to them, at a time we made most of our memories, which is about the 20 to 35ish age frame, we are calmer, we have less behaviors and we are comfortable,” said Mandy McCollum, a registered nurse, owner of Senior Helpers and the new Town Square Kennewick.

“Bringing back a time when they attended a theater with friends is where the positive effects come in. To transport them to a time where they were happy, active and functioning; it was the best times of their lives,” she said.

The 8,500-square-foot facility will be at 825 N. Edison St., Suite 130, in the same building as the new Golf Universe, across from Kamiakin High School.

McCollum said the total investment for the facility is likely to come in at $1.4 million and will include storefronts like a diner, movie theater and clothing store surrounding an indoor park. “They can wander around the park if they’d like,” she said. All of it will be enclosed for safety.

Town Square is still awaiting permits from the city of Kennewick but is likely to be licensed as a health center. Groups will rotate throughout the day with seniors dropped off to offer respite for their caretaker. Seniors will be assessed cognitively at the start and placed into small groups of about six with those of a similar cognitive level, ranging from low to high functioning.

“Say the activity is a painting, the lower functioning is going to be more broad strokes, ‘Let’s just see what colors mix and what they do,’ but you’re still creating something. The higher functioning maybe will have a flower and they’re painting inside the lines,” McCollum said.

Inspiration for the facility

McCollum said the center was originally inspired by a facility in California run by Alzheimer’s experts who opened it after learning a caretaker had reached his breaking point from the demands of caring for a family member with dementia.

“They ended up renting a house, just a plain house, and started letting people drop family members off, and said, ‘We’ll care for them, we’ll watch them, we’ll help them. Go get a break.’ And that’s kind of where it started,” McCollum said.

11th of its kind

Town Square Kennewick will be the 11th facility of its kind in the nation. McCollum was inspired to open one the moment she heard about it – but just didn’t have the capital. The company sold her on the idea of opening a Senior Helpers franchise instead, which she has been running for a few years at 616 The Parkway in Richland.

The Richland Senior Helpers focuses on Alzheimer’s and dementia clients, hoping to set themselves apart on the type of assistance offered.

“We have a specialty training where each of our caregivers and staff have experienced dementia for eight minutes and then we talk about it, ‘How did that feel and what were you going through?’ It helps understand how important it is to have a caregiver partner with you during those times of confusion.”

Helping seniors

McCollum said she’s always been drawn to this demographic. “Somebody asked me, ‘Why seniors?’ and I really don’t know. But I do remember as a high schooler, I was a candy striper, and I remember walking around and listening to everybody’s stories. It’s one of my favorite memories. I think they have a lot to give. I’ve learned a lot from my dementia clients, and I just feel like I can enrich their lives like they enrich my life.”

After the pandemic, the company that franchises Town Square reached back out to McCollum to tell her they had changed the model to make it more affordable to buy in. She’s signed a 10-year lease at the Kennewick location, owned by the Eerkes family, and has a contract to establish a total of three facilities in the Tri-Cities, the second likely in Richland or West Richland and the third in Pasco.

“I’d love to find some community support because I really want this to be a community center,” she said. “If two and three can be community funded, that would be fantastic.”

She said a day service is needed in the Tri-Cities, and Town Square will be about half the cost of in-home care.

A half-day program costs $95 and a full-day program would be $178.

“There will be nurses, physical therapists and occupational therapists on staff, which means it will operate under doctors’ referrals, including referrals through the VA,” she said.

At its max capacity about 70 people will be able to use the facility daily, assisted by a staff of about a dozen people with an expected 6:1 ratio.

“People can do five days a week, two days a week, half day or full day, it’s really up to them, whatever is beneficial,” McCollum said. “If somebody wants to try to go back to work, they would now have an option. We get calls a lot, ‘Is there any place I can take my loved one? I just need to go grocery shopping. I just need a break.’ It’s breaking my heart.”

McCollum said the feedback is positive from the other 10 centers already in operation nationwide.

“Family members are reporting they see a big difference in the senior; they look forward to getting up in the morning. It brings back joy and purpose. You might see somebody become a different person at home and a different person at the center just because of the environment that’s created,” she said.

Safe and supervised

If a client wants to build on that sense of purpose and be assigned a job for the day, like cleaning the floors, they’d be able to do so safely and supervised.

As a nurse, McCollum said reminiscence therapy also has been found to reduce sundowners, where people swap their days and nights. “Research shows us, the more we keep that brain engaged and busy during the day, it lessens the prevalence of sundowners,” she said.

Overall, she said research is also showing this type of therapy is helpful for those with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

“There is evidence that reminiscence therapy does have a lessening of the symptoms and, maybe, a slowing factor to the process. However, any traumatic event that occurs, if they go home and they have a fall or they get a (urinary tract infection), that has the opposite effect and could speed up symptoms,” she said.

McCollum’s original idea for Town Square was modeled after concepts in western Europe which include housing along the perimeter of the enclosed village.

“That might be coming in the future,” she said.

For now, the nurse who said she thrives on finding solutions is aiming to provide a new option to family members who are burned out and needing support.

“We’re a part of your team to help you get through this because you’re on a long journey,” she said.

For more information, call 509-713-1297 or go to townsquare.net.