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The model relies on a shared cultural understanding throughout the entire team. Every staff member, regardless of role, undergoes specialized memory care training to ensure that consistency holds.“ A lot of negative behaviors or outbursts actually come from a frustrating or confusing environment,” Loren notes.
The team treats behavioral changes as an expression of unmet needs rather than an isolated incident, pointing to physical pain as one of the most commonly overlooked causes.“ Imagine you are older, you have dementia, you can’ t verbally communicate, and you are experiencing severe joint pain. Suddenly, someone forces your arm into a coat sleeve and the pain is excruciating. You get frustrated and you hit out.” Without clinical context, that response is often mislabeled as aggression.
That’ s where Silverado’ s approach diverges from standard care. Rather than defaulting to sedatives or antipsychotic medications, the organization works to understand the underlying biology- including whether a resident’ s body is properly metabolizing their prescriptions.“ Some people are prescribed treatments without the provider knowing that the medication doesn’ t actually work on that specific person’ s biology.”
The goal, as Loren sees it, is precise and compassionate intervention, addressing pain at the source, adapting the environment,
People living with memory-impairing diseases can absolutely live a joyful, meaningful life. They just need the right system to support them
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