Green House Celebrations and Living with Dementia

Residents of Stadium Place, donors, and City Council President Jack Young joined GEDCO, Catholic Charities and Melissa Honig from NCB Capital Impact as the Green House Residences at Stadium Place held a Community Orientation, Update and Celebration.

People living with dementia need a "champion of non-pharmacological Alzheimer's treatment."

Read this article Dear Mr. President:' A Letter From America's Dementia Patients, by John Zeisel in the Huffington Post (August 28, 2011).

Next week Green House adopters from around the nation will gather in Birmingham, Ala., Sept. 7-9 for the Fourth Annual Green House Meeting and Celebration. Many sessions will be broadcast live over the internet, including the keynote address by Dr. Bill Thomas.

Dementia and John Mackey

Godspeed to John Mackey, one of the greats of the old Baltimore Colts. Residents of Stadium Place, the urban retirement community developed by GEDCO on the site of the former Memorial Stadium, reminisced about watching John Mackey and Johnny Unitas during the heyday of the Baltimore Colts. We tip our hats to the memory of John Mackey and other Baltimore Colts who have passed away.

John Mackey suffered from dementia, which afflicts many older adults, including those that never played football. People start to lose their memory and have difficulty conversing and eating. They may also become angry and belligerent. The Green House Residences at Stadium Place, which will open in Spring, 2012, will provide care for older adults who need long-term nursing care, including those with Alzheimer's Disease and other dementia.

According to the Alzheimer's Association:

Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities
severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is caused by changes in
the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia,
accounting for 50 to 70 percent of cases.

There are 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's. If you or someone you know is experiencing any of the signs, please see a doctor. Early diagnosis gives you a chance to seek treatment and plan for the future. If you have questions, call us anytime: 877.877-IS IT ALZ (877.474.8259).

Celebrating Aging at Stadium Place

More than fifty residents of Stadium Place celebrated Older Adults Month with a party this afternoon. One resident brought along music, and GEDCO provided a cake, celebrating GEDCO's 20th Anniversary and Stadium Place's 7th Birthday. Residents cheered for the decade they were born, and those who are 80 and older helped to blow out the candles. See more pictures on GEDCO's Facebook page.

GEDCO is going Green to meet LEEDS Construction Standards

Some long-term care providers are integrating LEEDS standards into their new buildings. GEDCO is building the first GREEN HOUSE® model of community-based long-term care in Maryland, and have designed it to meet the LEEDS-Silver level of certification. The improvements to the building will provide a better quality of life for the elders living in the building as well as the Shahbazim and other staff assisting them. See http://www.gedco.org/ for more information about The Green House Residences at Stadium Place.

During the design and development phase of the Baltimore project, the entire team was devoted to meeting the LEEDS standards. As a starting point, the project reuses a previously-developed site which reduces the environmental footprint of the building. In order to reduce exterior water consumption there will be no permanent irrigation system, and plants will be selected that are adapted to the local climate. Construction materials will be carefully selected so they contain large amounts of recycled content and they are manufactured and extracted regionally. In addition, the contractor has agreed to institute a construction waste management program that will divert at least 75% of construction debris from landfill. Another example of a design change is the HVAC system. The HVAC for this building will be a VRV (variable refrigerant volume) system which allows for individual space control and results in a far more economical and efficient system – it has a higher initial cost but will pay for itself over time through energy and operational savings.

Leadership in Aging Awards

GEDCO was honored to participate in the Governor's Leadership in Aging Awards today at the Catonsville Senior Center. Dr. Bill Thomas was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He shared remarks about the virtues and values of age, and the importance of honoring our elders. They are the glue that hold our society together. We need to learn to sit, listen and learn from our elders. Follow Dr. Thomas on his updated blogstream, ChangingAging.Org.

Pictured are Dr. Bill Thomas, Mitch Posner (Executive Director of GEDCO), and Reba Cornman, member of GEDCO Senior Services Committee.