The first residents of a new extended care facility recently moved into the White Oak Cottages in Westwood. The grounds at 6 Longwood Drive, the first of its kind in the state, consist of two 8,300-square-foot “cottages,” each with 12 bedrooms, common eating areas and a small spa. But these are no market-rate apartments; far from it. The facilities are for people suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia and, instead of keeping them in a nursing home or hospital setting, offers 24-hour nursing care in a homelike setting instead of an institution, according to Tony Amico, managing director of the new properties along with the adjacent Fox Hill Village retirement community. Amico has spent 33 years managing hotels, commercial properties and continued care communities.
Tony Amico
Title: Managing Director, White Oak Cottages and Fox Hill Village; Westwood
Age: 56
Experience: 33 years
What was the impetus for opening the cottages?
The reason we expanded our campus is that we did not offer a secure setting for residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia. In the past residents would move away to a nursing home facility or another specialized care facility. We knew we had this problem for several years so we purchased these 83 acres of land from Mass General Hospital four years ago and studied the land to see what we could build. While only about 10 acres is buildable because the rest is conservation land or wetlands, we identified four nice acres to build some cottages on. The idea is a home setting to de-institutionalize the traditional care model. It’s creating everything homelike that allows residents to be independent so they can engage in meaningful activities that they’re familiar with, things like helping staff do the laundry or helping in food preparation, things they enjoyed in their earlier years that they can still remember. It’s an opportunity for them to be themselves and live a life that’s more worth living.
What are the costs to build this type of facility?
Well, we also built an administration building so there wouldn’t be any offices in the homes. So for that and the two cottages the cost was $5.2 million. We just finished construction in late March. The entire site was a ledge, so there was a lot of blasting of rock. As of now we don’t have any plans for remaining buildable land.
What are the services and activities that you offer residents that they might not get at a nursing home?
We decided we did not want to build an institution, so we built two 12-bedroom houses clustered around open kitchen and living room areas. They all have private rooms and bathrooms and all the meals are served at a common area. The bedrooms are about 300 square feet each. Menu preparation, cooking and serving is done by certified nurses. We have certified nursing assistance on-call 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Most assisted living facilities offer nursing just eight hours a day. So far, since we opened about four weeks ago, four residents have moved in. We’ll be gradually moving residents in in the next eight months and expect to be full then.
Will we see more of these types of facilities built in the area in the future?
There is, and there will be a lot more demand for this kind of facility. The baby boomers are getting older and there isn’t any cure for this disease. There are 4.5 million people living with Alzheimer’s in the U.S. If nothing is done, there will be 16 million Americans with Alzheimer’s in the U.S. by 2050. The Massachusetts Alzheimer’s stats for people 65 and over, in 2010, said 120,000 people have Alzheimer’s in Massachusetts, and that number is expected to jump to 140,000 in the next 15 years due to the 2.7 million baby boomers in the state.
Five Key Features Of White Oak Cottages:
- Non-institutional setting – A home environment that allows residents to be independent and engage in meaningful activities.
- Person-centered care – a detailed service plan that serves as the organizing document for all services provided to each resident.
- Staffing – Certified nursing assistants not only provide personal care, they cook the meals and participate in activities with residents.
- Activities – designed with specific interest and abilities of the resident in mind.
- Meals and socializing – all residents eat together at one large dining table. All meals are cooked in each cottage.
