An article by Allison Rupp from the Jackson Hole Star Tribune discusses one alternative model for long-term care facilities that provide care for Alzheimer’s patients.

Mary Hein, along with a group of community members, wants to build several “pod-type nursing homes” for people with dementia where residents eat home-cooked meals at a dining room table and have their own room and bathroom.

Residents would see the same staff members every day and feel more comfortable and less confused in the home-like environment.

“They have enough going through their brains that they don’t need more confusion,” said Hein, executive director of Alzheimer’s Wyoming. She remembers visiting a friend in a nursing home, and the friend couldn’t find her way back to her room because of the long hallways.

“Here, they would walk out of their rooms into the common room. They would just sit down at the table,” Hein said.

The “pods” in Casper will be similar to the Green Houses being built in Sheridan but named differently due to copyright regulations.

Click here to read the entire article.

Allison Rupp is a Star-Tribune staff writer.  Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.