Statements
Mission
Abe's Garden® Community is establishing a replicable model for senior life that is focused on brain health, wellness and purposeful living.
Background
While Michael D. Shmerling and his family navigated the Alzheimer's journey for his father, Abram C. "Abe" Shmerling, M.D., they were repeatedly shocked by the lack of quality services for this population. This frustrating and disappointing experience propelled Mike to launch his passionate mission in 2005 to meet the need for standardized quality dementia care by establishing a memory care center of excellence in Nashville - a community whose heart and soul would be centered on caring for those sharing this same fate as his father, who passed away in 2006.
Mike assembled a team of professionals and toured care communities considered to be top in the country. They extracted the best services and programs to craft a cutting-edge memory care center unlike any other in the country.
In 2008, Mike founded Abe's Garden Community as a 501(c)(3). Located in the heart of Nashville, the senior living community now serves older persons and those with memory loss in the state-of-the-art intentionally designed 42-suite memory care residences, 20 assisted living apartments and 85 independent living apartments. Additional services include Abe's Garden Club (adult day program for those with dementia), Abe's Garden Community Group (for those in the earliest stages of dementia), and Abe's Garden at Home (in-home care and engagement).
Perhaps most importantly, Abe's Garden Community is committed to elevating care for elders and those living with dementia and freely shares best practices and resources with caregivers and senior communities and services around the globe.
Impact
Abe's Garden Community is a nationally recognized center of excellence caring for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
Accomplishments:
• Opened memory support community in September 2015 and has maintained full resident capacity since
• Launched a dementia care and engagement adult day program, Abe's Garden Club, in March 2016
• Launched Middle Tennessee's first early-stage dementia engagement and support program, Abe's Garden Community Group, in November 2017
• Disseminated more than 400 free copies of "How to Evaluate the Quality of Residential Care for Persons with Dementia"
• Established the Access to Care Fund for residents and program participants who qualify for financial assistance
• Produced and, in 2017, launched a series of educational caregiving videos, which are available to view for free and have over 415,000 views throughout 46 states and 40 international countries.
• Launched best practice care and engagement program through home care service, Abe's Garden at Home
• Increased awareness by being internationally recognized as a groundbreaker in dementia design in "World Alzheimer Report 2020"
• In 2022, launched Hearthstone Institute at Abe's Garden to increase impact and dissemination of best practices in dementia care and engagement based on the renowned I'm Still Here® approach
• Co-authored multiple published research papers with Vanderbilt Center for Quality Aging
• Alongside Vanderbilt Center for Quality Aging, developed an observation-based quality improvement system to provide standardized metrics in real-time about the consistency and quality of daily care processes
Goals:
• Expand campus to serve more seniors living with dementia by adding memory support suites
• Create space to serve more seniors in need of assisted living
• Increase our dissemination of dementia care best practices by partnering with senior living communities throughout the country
• Improve campus with initiatives that include energy-efficiency, connection to nature, and holistic well-being
• Create intentional space for spiritual/religious practices
• Develop a community assessment clinic
• Provide more financial assistance to families living with dementia by growing our Access to Care program
• Expand educational support for professional and family caregivers
• Increase dissemination of best practices for caring for individuals with Alzheimer's or other dementias
• Advance music therapy research by creating an onsite music lab
• Expand Abe's Garden at Home to provide more seniors with quality care and engagement in their homes
Needs
Abe's Garden Community is seeking:
• Annual support to develop and disseminate best practices in brain health, dementia care and meaningful engagement
• Capital funds to expand and make improvements that will benefit seniors living on campus, community-based program participants, and families
• Collaborations to serve more individuals through our Abe's Garden Community Group program and Abe's Garden at Home services
• Senior care providers interested in implementing the I'm Still Here® approach
• Volunteers to assist with resident and program participant engagement: art, music, flower arranging, photography, pet therapy, gardening, bee-keeping, culinary arts, wine tasting, etc.
• Social media followers and ambassadors to assist with reaching a wider audience to promote resources to families and individuals who are most in need
CEO Statement
Abe's Garden Community is the only Alzheimer's community in the nation founded to develop and disseminate best practices in dementia care.
Other features include:
- Interiors and exteriors designed specifically for the unique needs of this population
- Person-directed care tailored to each individual's strength, personal history and interests
- The nation's only full time Quality Improvement coordinator at a memory care or assisted living facility
- Energy efficient, sustainable building strategies
- Physically integrated with an independent and assisted living community to further the goal of reducing stigma and isolation associated with Alzheimer's disease
- Nonprofit 501(c)(3) status and collaboration with numerous non-profit organizations
Board Chair Statement
In 2006, the Abe's Garden Advised Fund was established at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to offer individuals of limited financial means the opportunity to benefit from the services that Abe's Garden Community will provide; and on May 27, 2007, Abe's Garden was formed as a nonprofit corporation. On January 15, 2008, Abe's Garden purchased a 7.4-acre site which includes Park Manor, a well-regarded independent senior lifestyle community, located adjacent to Nashville's premier Belle Meade and Green Hills neighborhoods. On September 21, 2015 this extraordinary journey culminated with the opening of Abe's Garden's first residential household. Buoyed by years of planning, research and community support, our exceptional staff welcomed a full complement of 42 residents within the first few months. From day one, and in contrast to most memory care communities, predetermined tasks and daily schedules were relegated to the needs and preferences of the individuals for whom we have been entrusted. This is person-directed care realized. Since opening, we have witnessed how person-directed care yields joy and meaning for Abe's Garden residents, volunteers and staff members. Our greater goal is to demonstrate and disseminate an elevated model of care for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, realizing an improvement in the quality of care for these individuals across the nation.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Health Care - Nursing Facilities |
| Secondary Category: | Diseases, Disorders & Medical Disciplines - Alzheimer's Disease |
| Tertiary Category: | Human Services - Adult Day Care |
Areas Served
The Abe's Garden Community campus is in Nashville, TN, however, the organization disseminates senior care best practices worldwide, mainly through freely-accessible educational caregiving videos.
| International |
