The Good Shepherd Home

The Good Shepherd Home sits in Anchorage, Alaska, as a very small place with only room for up to three or four residents, which means people get to know each other and staff can pay close attention to everyone's needs, and the care here is called residential care because people live together in a house setting, with a trained staff, and since it started as a family-based home in 2009, they've tried to keep things friendly and open, with a strong focus on treating everyone with respect. Folks who move in get help all day and all night, and nurses come by for visits, so if someone needs assistance with things like bathing, getting dressed, washing up, taking medicine-including insulin shots-or moving around, there's always help close by, and if anyone needs incontinence care, that's handled too. They offer memory care for people with moderate cognitive challenges, Alzheimer's, or dementia, which means the home's set up to keep residents from wandering and getting lost, and staff know how to support people when they're feeling confused. Meals get made in the cozy dining room, and they pay attention if someone can't have certain foods, like for diabetes, and there's usually some daily activities, like crafts, music, movie night, and exercise, plus outdoor space and a little garden for relaxing. The house has things for comfort like cable TV, Wi-Fi, phones, furnished rooms, and a yard, and some say there's a spot for books or quiet visiting and maybe a hot tub or steam room, and sometimes they schedule trips or church outings, with transportation arranged for doctor appointments when needed. Folks help tidy up with housekeeping and laundry, and everyone's encouraged to stay involved with scheduled activities, or just sit with others in the common areas if they don't want to join in. The home is licensed and watched over by Alaska's Department of Social Services, so it suits elderly folks who need daily help and want a smaller, somewhat intimate setting instead of a larger facility, and being so close to parks, pharmacies, restaurants, cafes, churches, and hospitals helps families visit and keep things familiar, which some residents seem to appreciate.