Model Trains Offer Stress Relief to Residents of The Springs

Friends and family gathered at The Springs Alzheimer’s Center (SAC), 6102 Grand Court Road, Thursday evening to accompany their loved ones that live at the center for a barbeque dinner and to admire model trains. The center is located across the street from the nursing home Royal Estates, and has been providing a comfortable home for Alzheimer's patients for two years.

“We have family fun night once a month and it just gives families a chance to come out and visit with their loved ones that they may not get to see that often,” said Kristen Gaitan, SAC Administrator. “Tonight, Hunter Scott, from Fredricksburg, brought in his collection of model trains and set them up for the residence and families to enjoy.”

Many of the residents rode trains in their younger years, and it awakens fond memories for them. “I rode the Doodlebug from San Angelo to Mertzon all of the time,” one resident recalled smiling.

Hunter Scott always admired trains as a child and decided to start collecting them and sharing them few years ago. “I am happy to share my collection with anyone that has an appreciation for them, much like the folks here,” he said.

Sparking happy memories for someone with Alzheimer's with an activity like model trains helps to ease the frustration they sometimes feel and takes them back to a good time in their life. Music is another form of therapy that is used and is quite effective. While Scott conducted his model trains around a track in one activity room, a group of ladies across the hall sang hymns. Another musically-talented man played Hank Williams on an acoustic guitar in another activity room.

SAC's founder Jerry Erwin, whose wife had Alzheimer's, built the center specifically for seniors with memory loss. The building is designed in a circle, the purpose being that you will always find your way back to where you came from, which helps with some of the disorientation residents experience. Each living quarter entryway is adorned with a picture and short bio of who lives there. This helps the resident and staff. 

“Here every resident is a human being, not a room number,” said Le’Anne Taylor, SAC Coordinator. “If a resident becomes disoriented and cannot find their room, the bios help both them and staff easily resolve the situation by identifying them as a person, and return them to their dwelling, or even just help remember who they are.”

The Spring Alzheimer’s Center houses up to 66 residents. “Right now we currently have 37 residents living with us,” said Gaitan. SAC is a private pay/ insurance facility, and is the only facility of its kind in the southwest part of town. The relaxed setting is exactly like a home, nothing about the center is remotely close to a nursing home. Residents can enjoy a relaxing read by a fireplace in one room, and enjoy a Jacuzzi style bath in another; it’s almost like a resort. With a calendar full of activites, like Thursday's train display, residents are sure to live out the rest of their years in serenity.

 For more information on Alzheimer’s’ visit: www.alz.org