The American Health Care Association estimates that there are 30,600 assisted living communities across the United States. A few common problems the communities face include an uneven ratio of caregivers to residents and isolation, according to the organization.
At Senior Home Companion, those issues don’t exist, according to its president, David Morgan. Senior Home Companion is an assisted living community that provides boutique, non-medical, elderly companion care to older residents in Indiana – including Carmel and the north Indianapolis area — and Florida.
“(Senior Home Companion) is dedicated to serving with integrity, effectiveness and compassion,” Morgan said. “Basically, we handpick the very, very best caregivers in Indianapolis and we intentionally match them with clients that help them have more support in their life.”
Prior to joining Senior Home Companion, Morgan worked in ministry for several years and eventually earned an MBA from Dartmouth College. He said joining the company was the perfect combination of his two passions.
Morgan said in-home caregivers at Senior Home Companion assist clients with activities of daily living, such as transportation, light housekeeping, companionship, running errands and more. It serves the Indianapolis area and its surrounding communities, including Carmel, Zionsville, Fishers and Greenwood.
Besides in-home care, Senior Home Companion offers residential homes called Story Cottages for memory care residents. Story Cottages launched in 2019 and are in the Williams Creek neighborhood in Indianapolis and in Carey Grove and WestClay in Carmel. A fourth Story Cottage will open in the Meridian Hills area of Indianapolis in May.
“People can just live together and find purpose and meaning in their days, in spite of the memory loss situation,” Morgan said.
Story Cottages are approximately 5,000 square feet and comparable to a large ranch house. They typically have between eight and 10 rooms.
Morgan said Senior Home Companion prefers to keep people in their homes as long possible because that’s obviously their preference. But over time, he said the staff recognizes that it can be challenging for families to support their loved one with memory loss and ultimately make the decision to move their loved one into a Story Cottage community.
“These are boutique memory care houses that serve clients in a residential setting with an unparalleled ratio of staff to clients,” Morgan said. “It’s usually a 3-to-1 ratio where we have three clients to one staff, and that’s just unheard of in the senior care space.”
Story Cottages are fully staffed with caregivers and a chef. They also have concierge nurses who oversee medication and doctor appointments.
“Having a dedicated nurse that you have a direct connection with really makes a huge difference in the quality of life for clients,” Morgan said.
Because these memory care residences are so much like home, Morgan said residents sometimes help the chef prepare dinner and assist with other household tasks, like washing and folding laundry, which only adds to the sense of normalcy.
“Our goal every day is to create flourishing moments,” Morgan said. “It’s really hard to create a flourishing day for somebody with memory loss getting a whole day of them coming alive and connecting with who they used to be.”
