SARASOTA (WSNN) – Get ready to time travel back to the 1950s at a new senior center in Sarasota county called Town Square.
“I just want to be here,” Town Square Sarasota Member Ward Matthews said. “This is great, and it is. it’s a wonderful place.”
“We know there is a need in the community for families who are struggling to care for a loved one at home,” Town Square Sarasota Co-Owner Michael Finn said. “Senior that has some mild cognitive impairment – potentially Alzheimer’s, potentially even Parkinson’s.”
This senior day care center has 10 storefronts with different activities in each room from a diner and an art studio to a movie theater and a health club.
“What we provide here is that engagement, which is often lacking at home,” Town Square Sarasota Center Director Jill Grinnell said. “We really focus on a successful day for that senior. Rather than sitting at home and watching television.”
Ward has been coming here since it opened in late January. He has Lewy Body Dementia, which is when you have problems with thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. He says he feels right at home at Town Square.
“Everyone gets along and I just love it,” Ward said. “I walk in and someone says ‘Hey Ward, how was your weekend?’ How normal is that? That’s normal, that’s what I crave is just normality and it’s wonderful.”
“Looks forward to getting up in the morning, getting here, he wants to look his best,” Ward’s wife Michele Matthews said. “He comes in and is welcomed warmly by the staff, gets lots of hugs.”
Family members say this has long-term benefits for their loved ones.
“I would say life-changing,” Michele said.
“They’re more engaged, which means they’re probably more talkative,” Finn said. “They’re doing things all day, they’re not napping, they’re sleeping better at night.”
If you or a loved one are interested in becoming a member here at Town Square, it requires a signature from a physician.
A Town Square is also coming to Bradenton at University Parkway and Lockwood Ridge Road.
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