Brewster Village

Appleton, WI

Brewster Village is a replacement facility for 204 long term care residents, many of which have a mental retardation or developmentally-disabled diagnosis. This Outagamie County-owned facility is designed around the household concept of 13 to 14 residents.

There are a total of 15 households in five neighborhoods. Each household provides living, dining, and kitchen in a residential setting. All resident rooms are private with private toilets. Bathing, personal laundry and utility spaces are provided for each household. A porch with access to a secure courtyard gives the residents a range of destinations within their household. The households and neighborhoods are connected to the Village Center which has a resident workshop, skylit Village Square, canteen, community center, chapel, therapy, and beauty/barber spaces. The benefits have been significant:

. Significantly decreased behavioral issues with residents

. Increased self-worth and self-expression of residents

. The institutional character has been reduced

. Family involvement has increased dramatically and the visits are longer

. Staff have stated that after working here they could not work anyplace else

. There is now a waiting list of 200+ residents whereas before there was no waiting list

. The administrator noted that due to the smoothness of the operation and the reduced behavior issues, resident conflicts, staffing shortages and marketing, he is now more free to think proactively about future programs instead just of reacting to current issues

The results indicated above are the result of an independent post-occupancy evaluation team after one year of operation. The evaluation was done by the Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments (SAGE) organization, which included architects, interior designers, department of health officials, engineers, county social service individuals, university professors, and family members.