Page 41 - SFHN March 2018

HEALTHCARE REAL ESTATE, CONSTRUCTION, DESIGN & FACILITY PLANNING

kitchen, and all of the residential households will be linked with the village space; it’s
like what you’d see walking on Main Street, with cafes, a small general store and
more.”
Ninety-nine residents will live in the EmpathiCare Village, with 11 people in each
household. The E-shaped building will have three floors, with three households on
each floor.
“The site itself allows for the buildings to be surrounded by large landscaped court-
yards, enabling everyone in the community to enjoy the outdoors,” Hodgson said.
“There also will be a common house to provide a large meeting area, as well as space
for performances that can serve the entire campus.”
Other facets include a fitness and therapy space as well as a creative arts workshop.
With the EmpathiCare Village so accessible to the Miami Arts District, the organiza-
tion is hoping to tap into arts patrons to support programs, draw in local artists, and
even, perhaps, have an artist-in-residence.
“One of the most critical elements is that the storefronts and the village not look
Disneyesque,” Hodgson said. “This community will have a rich feeling of authenticity,
a place where residents can participate to whatever level they can.”
Because the EmpathiCare Village will be open to the community, visitors will enter
through a Welcome Center where they will be greeted and given a brief orientation.
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“For security purposes, if you live in the village, this is not an obvious exit point,”
“Dr. Agronin has proven his expertise in this field; he has committed his life to this Dr. Agronin said. “If residents do try to exit, staff members will engage with them and
work,” he added. “But he needed a facility to optimize what he can do for this popu- redirect them. Every other point of exit is secured and monitored, and all residents
lation. The EmpathiCare Village will be the ideal location to research and work on will be monitored by technology so that the staff knows where they are.”
solutions so that we may someday be able to slow down, counter or even reverse Although the building will open in a couple of years, staff training is already under-
dementia.” way to adapt to the different approach of caring for people with dementia. When res-
idents go to lunch at the café, for example, nursing assistants will act as escorts for
The Design groups moving through the village. The architectural design will be instrumental in
Architect Cornelia Hodgson, president of C.C. Hodgson Architectural Group, said allowing the residents to engage with the environment to every extent possible.
the EmpathiCare Village, which will take between 18 and 24 months to build, will be “This kind of free access is a tremendous difference in philosophy,” Hodgson said.
unlike any other memory care community. Dr. Agronin added: “Staff will not just be passively monitoring residents; they will
“This concept stimulates the rhythms of daily living in a therapeutic environment,” be actively engaging with them. We are recognizing the innate empathy that people
she said. “The living spaces will have the feel of a big house, with a residential have and shaping it in ways to maximize its effectiveness.”

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