Active, Inspired Living

Although it is called assisted living, here at Harbourway we always think in terms of active, inspired living.

To put it simply, we are strong advocates of the idea that activity and interaction are critical for one’s mind, body and spirit.

That said, our small size (just 54 apartments and 14 beds in Memory Care) gives us the unique advantage of allowing us to create many flexible programs especially tailored to have the most appeal to our individual residents.

Of course, as you would expect, our residents do have ideas of their own and we take their comments and suggestions very seriously. (It is not uncommon to see a resident chatting in the hall with our general or assistant general manager.)

By the way, having that power of influence, that sense of active participation, is key to the high success rate of so many of our programs. You see, we understand that along with caring, respect must be at the foundation of all that we do, every day.

These are all quality of life issues and every activities program we have is created to improve or enhance just that. It really is about enjoying life. (Come for a visit, you’ll see for yourself.)

Below you’ll find a listing of just some of the easily accessible, social, recreational and educational experiences we have here at Harbourway to encourage social interaction and along with it to inspire a bit of that joie de vivre.

Please know that while we are extremely careful to not overstep anyone’s sense of privacy, we do look to inspire a healthy outlook and good sense of community in our residents. We like to say that here the emphasis in assisted-living is on living.

The following is a sampling of activities that make for the good life at Harbourway:

• Outings to the malls and shopping centers, the local museums and galleries, (i.e. The Chrysler Museum, The Center for Contemporary Arts, the Virginia Aquarium), to cultural events (The Sandler Center, The Virginia Symphony, The Virginia Opera, the Virginia Beach Festivals and Air Shows) and to the Virginia Beach oceanfront
• The Great Room Lecture Series and Seminars ranging on topics from advances in medicine and medical care to crafts and hobbies
• Weekly Socials (“Happy Hour”) with music
• Seasonal and holiday parties, and ballroom dancing
• Great Room Performances with musical guests and performers
• Gaming Tournaments and Socials: bridge, chess, checkers, board games, etc.
• Exercise Classes using therapy bands, weights, and yoga (Note: Harbourway has created these classes using the “best-practice” philosophies of low tension, low stress and a good dose of fun.)

 

Monthly Support Group Meetings for Families.

Our Monthly Group Support Meetings have proven to be a wonderful and helpful resource for the spouses and adult children of people in need of care. If you can join us, even just once, please do.

Each meeting is run by a Social Worker and a Harbourway administrator to give you not only the benefit of latest professional and medical information to help you in making ongoing care decisions, but to also give you trustworthy advice and a comfortable, understanding place to talk about and share your experiences.

Our Monthly Support Group Meetings are open to the public and are usually held at 11 a.m. on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Please call 757-716-2150 to confirm the time, date and location.

 

Specialized Activities and Support for Memory Care Residents and Their Families

To provide new directives in care for Alzheimer's and dementia, the new Harbourway Memory Care Unit opened in Feb. 2008. This specialized 14-bed unit features new physical therapy options, targeted activities and a secure garden area.

For families, Harbourway offers an Alzheimer’s Support Group with resident family and staff co-facilitators and a social worker.

In addition to full attention to each resident’s medical care, and to provide the finest comprehensive care, our Memory Care Unit’s physical and sensory stimulation activities are customized for each resident by our on-staff Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist who also holds a special certification in dementia practice guidelines set by the American Therapeutic Recreation Association.

For an in-depth look at our Therapeutic Recreational Programs for your loved one, please click here: Memory Care: Therapeutic Recreational Programs.

If you’re concerned about the onset of Alzheimer’s, we have some helpful information for you in the Memory Care section and would like you to consider us, along with your family physician, as a resource.