Meadowside, a new memory care center at Meadow Lakes senior community in Hightstown, will open next week.
By: Michael Ross
EAST WINDSOR A facility catering to seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders will open next week at the Meadow Lakes retirement community.
Meadowside, a 16-room addition to the Etra Road senior living community, is designed to enhance the physical and emotional well-being of resident seniors.
"Meadowside will allow us to enhance the scope and quality of our memory care services," Meadow Lakes Assistant Director/Administrator Joanne Schwartz said in a January press release.
The memory center adds to a continuum of care that includes nursing and rehabilitation, independent living and assisted living on the campus-like, 103-acre community established in 1965.
Meadow Lakes is affiliated with Presbyterian Homes & Services Inc., a Princeton-based, nonprofit, nonsectarian retirement housing provider with nearly 90 years of experience.
"Meadowside offers a warm, home-like and secure setting designed to enhance physical and emotional well-being for residents," PHS Communications Specialist Evelyn Goldin, said in the press release. "The décor, design and programming at Meadowside incorporates the newest and most highly regarded research about memory care."
The center includes special "anti-institutional" touches to reinforce a feeling of familiarity and security for residents. "Memory" boxes, filled with personal memorabilia, are located outside each resident’s room and serve as confidence-enhancing visual cues. In addition, each of the 16 rooms has its own distinctive color scheme and décor, to reinforce a feeling of familiarity and security.
Executive Director Sharon Eldridge said such touches create a homelike environment for residents while the aviary, fish tank and companion dog allow interaction with pets.
"The birds are mesmerizing," Ms. Eldridge said.

