A Connecticut nursing home is honoring one of its former residents with a remodeled room to give individuals with dementia a place to relax.
Donald Neary was a resident of St. John Paul II Center in Danbury, CT, for three and a half months before he died in March. His family requested that donations be made in his memory to the facility.
Staff members there took the $450 they received and updated a room Neary used to enjoy sitting in. They also renamed it the “Neary Relaxation Room.” Brown walls were painted over in a light purple, and art was hung on up. The room also received a plaque with Neary’s name on it, along with a Mother Teresa quote — “Peace begins with a smile.”
“This is a dementia unit and oftentimes residents get anxious,” director Linda McCue told the News-Times during the room’s official dedication last month. “The staff and I really wanted to create a special place that would be more calming to residents.”
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