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NEWS & EVENTS Breakfast at Briarwood Date                  Topic Oct 20th     Arm yourself against the Flu Nov 17th    Memory loss, is it a sign of Alzheimers Jan 19th     COPD can leave you breathless Feb 16th     Eden by choice not by chance All events start at 9:30AM. Please RSVP 48 hours prior to the breakfast if you would like to attend. Either at the front desk or call 781-449-4040.

At Briarwood Healthcare, we pride ourselves on providing resident and family centered care.  That's why we are so pleased to present you with the results of the 2010 Nursing Home Satisfaction Survey recently conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Division of Health Care Quality.

As you can see, overall satisfaction at Briarwood Healthcare exceeded ALL other facility averages in our area (Metro-West) as well as across the state scoring 4.56 out of 5 compared to 4.22 Statewide and 4.16 in the Metro area.  Below is the summary of all measures comparing Briarwood to other Needham nursing facilities.  As you can see, Briarwood families are significantly more satisfied than families with loved ones at other facilities.

1=Very Dissatified, 5=Very Satisfied

NOVA DESCENDS ON NEEDHAM

Producer Elizabeth Arledge interviews Walter Collins, owner and president of Briarwood Healthcare, for an upcoming episode of the PBS show NOVA scienceNow. PHOTO BY BRET SILVERBURG

BRET SILVERBERG, Hometown Weekly Staff 25.OCT.07
A WGBH camera crew headed to Briarwood Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center last week to document possible groundbreaking scientific developments in the field of memory retention.

The episode of the WGBH show NOVA scienceNow, being shot almost exclusively at the Briarwood facility, will highlight the fact that the environment produced at Briarwood has a positive affect on memory, according to producer Elizabeth Arledge.

She cites new research being done with mice at MIT on the ability to process memories even after they have been lost when placed in an enriched environment. Briarwood is an example of such an environment, she says.

There's direct evidence here, she says. This is the closest you can get in people.

The day of shooting consisted of consultations with many members of the staff, a walkthrough of the facility, and a culminating interview with Walter Collins, owner and president of Briarwood.

In the interview, Arledge asks Collins about Briarwood's dedication to maintaining Eden Alternative status, which takes a humanistic approach to healthcare and well-being.

We are in a process of de-institutionalizing care, he explains in the interview conducted by Arledge for the documentary. We recognize all of our residents and we design our services around their interests.

In the interview, Collins also points out some of the physically noticeable differences in an Eden Alternative facility.

The unit is designed for better light for the residents with dementia, he says. The flooring is muted so that there's no reflection on the floor. It's basically one color because any dark spots on the floor look like holes and confuse people with dementia.

This treatment of the physical landscape there is a full courtyard just off of the comfortable deep blue painted library room is just one of the ways in which an Eden Alternative facility is different from other, more traditional nursing facilities.

According to the brochure, everything from the sounds you hear to the aromas you take in are different and more befitting of a comfortable lodge than a facility for rehabilitation within the guidelines of the Eden Alternative.

Though Arledge maintains that this enriched environment could lead to a change in the way the scientific community looks at memory retention.

This could be the beginning of policy change with regard to the view of Alzheimer's and memory study, Arledge says.

Another staple of an Eden facility is the reduction of resident-to-resident altercations and the use of psychotropic drugs. According to a recent study conducted internally at Briarwood, resident-to-resident altercations are down from an average of 2 per month to .27. Also reported in the study, there has been a 70 percent reduction in psychotropic medication usage.

We think that life is more stimulating, says Collins in the Arledge led interview. Personally I think it's got a lot to do with the quality of life that they enjoy. That requires less medication. They're living fuller lives.