(Inspiring Minds Through Art — a visual art therapy program which pairs residents with volunteer student therapists from Xavier University.)

As one of the premier senior living communities in Cincinnati, Marjorie P. Lee is continually working to improve quality of care for older people in the Tristate.

We recognize that our residents’ needs and preferences are continually evolving. Concurrently, the health care delivery system in the United States is undergoing unprecedented change.

Over the past year, we began a planned, three-year series improvements and service expansions within our community, with attention paid to all the levels of care we provide, including independent senior living, assisted living, memory support, long-term and short-term rehabilitative skilled nursing care.

Our new, 46-room rehabilitation suite provides a bridge from hospital to home.

Though all the changes we’ve planned will take many months to complete, we view them as opportunities for us to meet Cincinnati seniors’ changing lifestyle and health care needs in a person-centered, innovative and spiritually-based way, and to better prepare our community to continue providing quality senior care long into the future.

Now, at the halfway point in the year, we’d like to take a moment to share with you a report on our progress to date, and to preview the changes you’ll see over the next 18 months.

A new approach to independent living

We know that one of the most attractive features of a Continuing Care Retirement Community like Marjorie P. Lee is that our residents don’t need to move to another facility when their health care needs change.

We know, too, that different residents will define “independent living” in various ways, according to their needs, beliefs and expectations. That’s why we’ve redefined our own approach to independent living. We call it “Residential Living.”

Marjorie P. Lee’s 44 Residential Living apartments allow our residents to enjoy their independent lifestyles for as long as possible without having to move to another apartment belonging to another level of our community’s senior care continuum.

How will we keep seniors aging in place in their independent living apartments? By enhancing or Enriched Living services.

Members of our Residential Living program can now receive an expanded range of Enriched Living assistance services in their current apartments, without needing to move to another MPL floor or wing.

Residents and their families won’t have to worry anymore about moving away from their familiar home setting and neighbors, unless their changing needs require ongoing memory support or long-term skilled nursing.

One of the Tristate’s newest Centers of Excellence for short-term physical rehabilitation

As our national healthcare system continues to evolve, patients are staying for shorter periods of time in acute care hospitals as they recover from surgeries (including elective procedures like joint replacements, back and neck procedures), injuries and major illnesses.

Often, patients who are well enough to leave the ICU or acute care ward but who are still too weak to continue their recovery at home come to skilled nursing units (such as the one here at Marjorie P. Lee) to regain their strength and their ability to live independently.

Marjorie P. Lee has been designated a Center of Excellence for short-term physical rehab. We’ve also received top safety ratings from Ohio’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Our new, 46-room rehabilitation suite provides a bridge from hospital to home. All rooms are private, and 19 of them are equipped to care for multi-diagnosis patients who require complex, rehabilitative nursing care. We’re now providing a broad range of therapies, including orthopedic rehab, cardiac rehab, respiratory therapy and advanced wound care.

We’ve also expanded our Care Transitions program, which ensures that our patients receive follow-up visits or calls after they return home. In providing this service at no extra charge, we’re helping our patients to avoid infections, injury recurrences and medication mishaps that otherwise might lead to hospital readmissions.

Making Cincinnati a “Dementia-Friendly City” with advanced memory support

This year, we refurbished and opened a new, 24-room memory support suite on the fourth floor of our community’s Amstein House unit. Each room is private; the suite itself is secured and well-monitored by expert staff.

Residents of our memory support suite benefit from one of the most comprehensive Alzheimer’s dementia therapy packages available in Cincinnati. Our innovative program is anchored by cognitive intervention SAIDO Learning, for which we became only the second licensed provider in North America.

Our cognitive therapies include It’s Never 2 Late computer-based learning, Grey Matters app-based learning, Music & Memories (a music therapy program) and Inspiring Minds Through Art (a visual art therapy program which pairs residents with volunteer student therapists from Xavier University).

More improvements and changes on the way

Over the next year, we’ll report back to you on other changes taking place at Marjorie P. Lee that, we believe, will change the course of senior care in Cincinnati.

In the meantime, if you, or your senior loved one, is interested in learning more about the quality senior care we’re providing here, we invite you to take a tour and see the difference a person-centered, dignified approach makes.

Schedule your visit today. As always, we’re happy to answer all your questions.