Susan Baca knows what it takes to be a great employee at The Grove. That’s because she was one of the first.

Baca was a certified nursing assistant who had moved to Redlands from central California in 1996 when she first applied to work at Plymouth Village. That was the same year that then-Executive Director Kay Kallander, now a senior vice president for ABHOW, floated her dream of a special program at Plymouth Village to care for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

“At the time it was Kay’s dream to open a building that would support people with different types of dementias through social methods – to try redirection and other resources in order to reduce the use of medications,” says Baca, who is now director of staff development for the whole community. “I thought, ‘Wow, I want to be involved in that.’”

At previous jobs, Baca was instructed to try to orient those under her care to reality. In her single attempt to do so, she told a woman with Alzheimer’s who was looking for her husband that he had passed away.

“Well, to her that was the first time she’d heard that information. So she grieved and cried. I felt horrible that I had told her this news,” she says. “So I thought there must be a better way of doing this than reality orientation. It was exciting to discover that The Grove embraced a person-centered, life-affirming approach.”

That unique approach has earned ABHOW the first national accreditation in dementia care for a multi-site organization. The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities-Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CARF-CCAC) last year awarded all 10 of ABHOW’s continuing care retirement communities with five-year accreditation, an honor earned by fewer than one-in-five of the nation’s CCRCs. The accrediting body also granted its coveted seal of approval to The Grove, which operates at four of ABHOW’s CCRCs.

CARF-CCAC standards include the expectation that a community’s leadership creates a culture that supports and sustains relationships which are meaningful to staff, residents and their families. Baca discovered she had a role in creating this culture.

The Grove’s techniques, she learned, were often as easy as finding something the person enjoyed during his or her life and letting them do it. “That’s why it’s important to know the life story of each resident,” Baca says. 

One resident, a former college professor, likes sitting at the head of the dinner table and saying grace, his long-held tradition from meals at home. Another resident, a dedicated coupon-clipper before coming to The Grove, now spends Sundays with the newspaper coupons and a pair of scissors.

Knowing these life stories, employees recast the relationship with residents. They become friends who listen carefully, show patience, and share common interests. That’s the Best Friends way, a philosophy of care that The Grove has adopted in partnership with David Troxel, co-author of The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer’s Care.

Using the Best Friends approach, residents feel safe and valued, while staff move from failure to success, Troxel says. “We have found that as staff develop friendships with residents, they bring more of themselves – their interests, joys and passions – to the caring,” he says. “The result is that employees are energized and always growing as they seek creative ways to be friends with residents. As they grow, staff members have more to give to the persons for whom they care.”

Baca agrees. “Our environment helps bring out the best in our residents by honoring who they are. We’re able to do this because we truly enter into mutual relationships with residents. It’s kind of like having an extended family.”

It’s a family Baca cares for as if it were her own, because she knows if the situation were reversed, she would want someone to care for her with the same compassion. That perspective now informs her hiring choices for The Grove as director of staff development.

“We’re very careful about who we hire for The Grove, because to me it’s the most special place on this campus,” she says. “We want employees who are compassionate and have a heart for older adults. Humor and flexibility are essential, too.”

Such employees embrace the reality that residents can grow at The Grove, she says. So they are willing to try new things to adapt to residents’ needs and behaviors. They have what Troxel calls the “knack,” an ability to think on their feet and artfully employ a variety of maneuvers to handle problems.

“Staff with knack can do difficult things with ease as they use creative strategies in daily care,” Troxel says.

Caring this way, residents and staff both flourish, Baca adds. “Life at The Grove includes new experiences, learning and growth for residents and staff alike.”