Ahava Drake

Ahava Drake is a six-bed home on Drake Road in Farmington Hills, Michigan, where assisted living and memory care are offered in a residential house instead of a large building. With only six residents under one roof, the household stays small enough that everyone is known by name, and the pace of the day follows the people who live there. Care is available around the clock, so a resident who wakes at night or needs help early in the morning finds a caregiver close by in the same home.

Each resident has a private room, and the rest of the house is shared. A living room, a dining room, a kitchen and a bathroom are used by everyone, much as they would be in a family home, and rooms can be personalized with a person's own belongings so the space feels familiar from the first night, and each room also has a television with cable and is ready for a telephone, which helps residents stay in touch with family.

The rooms are designed for wheelchair access, with grab bars, handrails and a roll-in shower, and call buttons are placed in the room, the bathroom and the shower. Meals are home-cooked in the kitchen of the house and served in the dining room, so the smell of cooking and the sound of conversation belong to ordinary afternoons. Sitting down together at a table gives residents a natural rhythm to the day and gives caregivers an easy way to notice who is eating well and who may need a little extra encouragement.

Because the kitchen is part of the house, meals are prepared for the small group living there rather than for a crowded dining hall. Caregivers help with the daily activities that become harder with age, including bathing, dressing, grooming, getting around the house and incontinence care. Medication management, laundry and housekeeping are part of the routine, so residents and their families are not left to coordinate those tasks on their own.

The home is set up to care for people living with conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke and other long-term health needs. Memory care is part of what the home offers, which means a person living with dementia can stay in a calm, familiar house with a small group instead of moving through a busy hallway of unfamiliar faces. The small number of residents makes it easier for caregivers to notice when someone is anxious or restless and to respond quickly, and a secure patio gives residents a place to be outdoors within the home's grounds.

Days in a house this size are shaped by ordinary routines more than a printed schedule, and the activities reflect that in a way that suits a small group, with music, puzzles, arts and crafts, card and board games, movie time, storytelling, exercise, gardening and birthday and holiday parties. Residents can take part in as much or as little as they like, and quiet time in the living room with housemates and caregivers is as much a part of the day as anything planned.

Families often find that a home of this scale changes how they take part in a loved one's life. There is no lobby to cross and no front desk to pass, so a daughter, son or grandchild walks into a house, joins the household at the table and sees the day as it actually unfolds, which makes it easier to talk with caregivers about small changes in appetite, mood or sleep as soon as they appear. When a resident needs more than the household provides directly, visiting nurses, physical, occupational and speech therapy, and pharmacy delivery can be arranged to come to the home.

The home sits in Farmington Hills in Oakland County, and Corewell Health Farmington Hills Hospital is about 5 miles away, which keeps medical appointments manageable for families who live across the area.