Debbie and her father, David Blodgett | A dementia resident story

My name is Debbie Blodgett-Goins and my father, David Blodgett Sr. was here at Garden Village for dementia and I’m here to tell my story.

We had dad in a care facility and then one night transported him to Memorial Hospitals emergency room and refused to accept his return to their facility. When we met with the social worker at Memorial hospital, we were told that none of the facilities in the area would accept dad as a resident because of the aggressive behavior he had displayed at the previous facility. We were told the only facility that would accept him was in Moses Lake.

We were desperate at that point and couldn’t imagine moving Dad that far away from family; we couldn’t imagine that he was too aggressive for reasonable care. We were left in the dark because the previous facility refused to accept our calls on clarification and their reports didn’t align with what we knew about dad.

Finally after speaking with the social worker from Memorial Hospital, I decided to visit Garden Village.

Garden Village offers programs designed to serve populations whose needs cannot be met in a traditional nursing home setting.

When our family had no where to go for help, Garden Village came to our rescue and accepted his admission. Initially I was with dad every single evening as he adjusted to his stay at Garden Village. As I had become accustomed, I expected negative updates about all he had done inappropriately throughout the day; but that didn’t come.

Employees are Garden Village spoke to him and all of the other residents with great care. I saw patience and understanding whenever a residnet did display frustration. I witnessed them individualize the care needed for each resident of the facility. I know that dad wasn’t always easy to care for, but they gave him the respect that he deserved and explained everything so he could understand what was happening. His pride was left intact and I, once again, got to see my dad as a dignified strong man.

Garden Village cares for people who have challenging behaviors and accepts them for who they are.

The staff was observant without being intrusive during our visits with dad. They always greeted us and directed us to dad without having to ask. They silently watched and comforted as needed. There was no judgement or pushing. Our family really appreciated that as our visits with dad became more and more difficult.

As time progressed, and dad became more impacted by dementia, they explained all of our options for continued care and that he did not need such a restrictive environment anymore. By that time, we couldn’t dream of moving him to any other facility. Garden Village became a family to dad and to us. We trusted them and had the utmost faith in their ability, and more importantly, their willingness to take care of my dad.

We were made ever grateful for the respect and care they gave dad in his final days.

Debra Blodgett-Goins and husband Daniel Goins
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