The state is recognizing eight nursing home facilities for offering innovative ways of caring for older Kansans. The PEAK awards recognize facilities that focus on providing better quality of life for seniors.
“For the longest times, nursing homes and senior living communities have been patterned after hospitals and warehousing-type structures that were very rigid and very structured environments and gave very few limited number of choices to those that live there,” said Shawn Sullivan, secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.
Sullivan spoke last week at Brewster Place in Topeka, one of the award winners this year.
The president and CEO at Brewster Place, David Beck, says they've focused on giving residents more choices in their day-to-day routines. One example is allowing residents to set their own schedule, instead of being forced to wake up and go to bed at specific times.
