August 1, 2000 | by I Advance Senior Care

Design Center August 2000

Normandy Farms Estates
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
Type of Facility/Setting:
Administrator:
Architecture Firm:

Resident Capacity:

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Construction Cost:
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Licensed Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living
Lisa Hildenbrand
Reese, Lower, Patrick & Scott, Ltd.
James D. Reese, AIA, Partner
(717) 560-9501
20 licensed skilled nursing beds
and 30 memory-impaired assisted living units
39,500 sq. ft.
$5.6 million
$144
ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS
Lisa Hildenbrand, Administrator, Normandy Farms Estates: “The residents in the dementia assisted living unit are more independent than the residents in the skilled unit, but there is not much difference in the design of the two units. Both try to give residents a feeling of light and openness. There are ‘window walls’ all around, and the common areas are large and open directly onto hallways, so residents feel less restricted.
“Each unit has its own country kitchen; the one in the assisted living unit is designed more to be operated by residents and the one in the skilled unit more by staff, but both give residents and families a chance to enjoy snacks at almost any hour of the day or night.
“The color schemes have been chosen for their calming effect. We find, for example, that the green used in the skilled unit seems to be very well received by the residents-they’re less agitated and have increased attention spans. The impact of color on resident behavior is one of the things I learned from this project.
“The residents seem very pleased in general. I’ve had some tell me that they feel as though they are living like queens or kings in a fine hotel. And it has helped in the marketing of our facility, because visitors say the units don’t ‘look like a nursing home.'”

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