Baptist Memorial Nears Completion of $5.7 Million Expansion for Care of Alzheimer’s Residents

Every 67 seconds someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and more than 5 million Americans are living with the disease. These numbers are expected to grow over the years, and to prepare for the influx of seniors who will need this specialized care, Baptist Retirement Community is expanding its housing to include two new assisted living memory care homes. The Baptist Retirement Community offers housing and amenities to seniors in need of varying levels of care across a 100-acre campus and is excited to add new homes that will benefit seniors in and surrounding San Angelo. The senior living community is working with Kinney Franke Architects to make these homes a reality.

Baptist Retirement Community is nearing the completion of its two new memory care assisted living homes, making the community the only one in the Concho Valley area to offer a continuum of care and lifestyle housing. The $5.7 million expansion will be completed in July 2015.

“We feel privileged to be able to make more services available to seniors in San Angelo and the surrounding area,” said Quinda Feil-Duncan, executive director for Baptist Retirement Community. “Our team’s goal has always been to provide lifestyle housing and individualized care to residents as they age within our community. The small home model has been so successful with our innovative Green House® homes, we decided that this concise concept would be the best approach for our new memory care assisted living homes as well. This model allows us to create an inviting, close-knit and tranquil environment that is tailored to the needs of each resident.”

Residents in the memory care assisted living homes will have the freedom to make their own choices in regard to their dining experience, lifestyle habits and activities. The schedules are non-regimented, so residents can continue living their lives the way they want. Team members have gone through specialized training that empowers them to meet residents’ individualized needs in creative ways that are in the best interest of the residents.

“Each house is more than 11,000 square feet and features a neutral color palette which will include lots of wood and stone. There is a courtyard with native plants and greenery to give it a West Texas feel,” said Craig Kinney, LEED architect and partner of Kinney Franke Architects. “One of the houses will have a spa room where residents can be indulged and enjoy a quiet time while getting nail, hair and spa treatments. The other house will feature a wellness room with exercise equipment to encourage a healthy lifestyle and space for de-stressing in a calm environment. Both houses will feature open spaces with expansive windows overlooking the courtyard and a covered patio. We wanted to introduce as much natural light as possible, as it helps cue residents to the times of the day and makes the space more alive."

“When planning the expansion project and what it would entail, we knew we wanted to offer memory care assisted living, as we did not have a housing option crafted specifically for residents with those needs,” said Feil-Duncan. “We are seeing increasing needs for memory care on our campus and in the surrounding community. We have a bright future ahead filled with opportunities to truly make a difference in the lives of seniors.”

More on Baptist Retirement Community's Expansion

Baptist Retirement began a $22 million renovation and expansion project, to be completed in two phases. The first phase focuses on building two new memory care assisted living homes, which will open this summer.  The expansion and renovation of the Henley-Mabee high-rise residences will feature an attached wellness center that will include a dining venue, library, computer learning area, bistro restaurant, community room, aerobics area and a heated pool along with building two new Green House® homes and campus beautification.  This master plan will transform the campus into one of the premier senior living destinations not only in the Concho Valley, but all of West Texas.