First in U.S. Dementia Care Village Near Marana to Open in 2025
Prosper in Peace, modeled from a dementia care program started in 2009 in the Netherlands, is in the planning stages on a 10-acre site in Pinal County. It is set to be the first to open in the United States in 2025. This holistic approach to dementia care focuses on resident support to continue a productive and enjoyable life within the boundaries of a community-style setting.
The campus is designed to accommodate 20 residents with 10 low acuity, assisted living duplex apartments and 10 private bedrooms in a centrally located home for those needing more oversight. To create the village setting, residents will find a variety of businesses within a short walk, such as a coffee shop, movie theatre and hair salon. Prosper in Peace accommodates for a spouse (or life partner) to live there, too.
“The village lifestyle is designed to give our residents a greater quality of life, within the safety of the campus, as they navigate this new phase,” said LeAnn Larson, a registered nurse and visionary behind the project. “The rate of Americans – and Arizonans – diagnosed with dementia is growing, along with an aging population. The National Institutes of Health reports the number of Arizonans living with Alzheimer’s disease is growing by more than 33%, which is the fastest rate of growth in the U.S.”
“As a nurse for 25 years, quality care has been my passion and I’m creating the change I wish if memory care would be needed for myself, my family and my friends,” Larson said, adding, “Quality of life is paramount as we grow older, and Prosper in Peace is designed to best support memory care and quality of living.”
Included in the design of the memory care community, the Prosper in Peace staff will be specially trained and certified in dementia care – from the cooks and groundskeepers to the caregiving staff – enabling them to tailor their interactions as part of the village-designed resident care.
While Larson has not released a specific date for opening, property has been purchased in Pinal County, architectural plans are in place, and she is in the search to finalize funding for the project. Her intent is to open the memory care village in 2025. More information about the project can be found at www.prosperinpeace.org.
Prosper In Peace is designed to emulate the Hodeweyk, a new way of memory care developed in The Netherlands in 2009 to humanize care for the growing numbers diagnosed with dementia. Since its opening more than a decade ago, these memory care villages are growing around the world with the work to deinstitutionalize care.
