Bella Groves

Bella Groves Love > Dementia

We had an opportunity to celebrate the work of two team members who have taken leadership roles on our care team this ye...
23/07/2025

We had an opportunity to celebrate the work of two team members who have taken leadership roles on our care team this year.

Amber and Heather have been exceptionally committed to the vision and mission behind Bella Groves, and we are so delighted to support them in their growth as leaders.

The heart of leadership is very simple to define: achieving great things as a team by bringing the best out in others.

Like all leaders at Bella Groves, Amber and Heather are tasked now with the challenging and worthwhile responsibilities to serve the members of our team.

Amber: Lead Care Partner

Heather: Dementia Education Assistant

We are all pictured here outside for a wonderful meal and some inspiring conversations!

There are much too many moments of joy to recount. The tiny glimpses of happiness we get to share on here are only a fra...
20/07/2025

There are much too many moments of joy to recount. The tiny glimpses of happiness we get to share on here are only a fraction of our Bella Groves testimony. Looking at these pictures are like peaking at a page in an entire storybook, and our sincere hope is that the multitude of pages one day compile into a novel which never ends.

The other day, a family member of a resident who has recently moved into our community was reflecting on life before dementia with such sadness and longing, stating how cruel life is. In that moment, our team was able to infuse hope through our daily experiences. Hope that grief and joy can coexist. That life is cruel in so many ways, but it’s also beautiful in so many more.

Each day may be speckled with confusion, disorientation, anxiety or sadness among our residents. That’s the disease process, and none of us can stop that. However, each day is also flooded with moments you see here:

1) Unexpected connections that take place

2) Random bingo games

3) Creative group exercise classes

4) Flower arranging

5) Baking

6) Pet visits

7) Family members joining in on activities

8) Parties for the sake of celebrating

9) Residents helping the care team with normal activities (sweeping the floors)

At Bella Groves, we focus on these moments, magnify them, and allow them to infuse the same hope into us that we give to others.

May our page bring you hope, too.

Love > Dementia



Gardening time early in the day is great for so many reasons. The physical activity - some of the world’s most well know...
18/07/2025

Gardening time early in the day is great for so many reasons.

The physical activity - some of the world’s most well known areas of longevity, called Blue Zones, include factors like gardening (Okinawa, Japan) and steep walks (Sardinia, Italy).

Exposure to sunlight (circadian rhythm) - this really helps us to regulate sleep.

Social bonding - the conversations, teamwork and sense of accomplishment that these ladies shared have REAL impact.

You’ll see a mix of real flowers and artificial flowers throughout Bella Groves.

Most are real and they are planted and care for by residents.

Some are artificial and are more visual bright spots along walkways and outside resident rooms.

If you’ve got a green thumb, we can always use a hand! 🌺 🪴

It’s not all fun and games at Bella Groves… buuuut sometimes it IS.Meanwhile - there’s actually a lot of great dementia ...
10/07/2025

It’s not all fun and games at Bella Groves… buuuut sometimes it IS.

Meanwhile - there’s actually a lot of great dementia support knowledge happening here behind the scenes.

We get asked a lot, “my loved ones doesn’t have interest in activities anymore. What can I do?”

While there are never any one size fits all answers, here are a few guiding principles.

☝🏼 Don’t always stick with what they “used to” like doing. A person living with dementia can develop new interests (just like anyone else). Try new things. Our brains reward us for novel and exciting experiences.

🤘🏼If you’re enjoying it, they might too. Activities are far less about giving them something to do and much more about inviting them to do something together with you. WITH, not FOR.

🤟🏼 “Do you want to..?” registers a mental exercise of initiation, deciding, and planning. For some people living with dementia, one of the symptoms may be a change in their ability to initiate activity. It doesn’t have to do with INTEREST. It may have to do with executive function.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is responsible for planning and is critical to executive function (ex: setting goals and making decisions). If they have trouble with planning, that means that whether their brain prompts them with the prospect of an activity or YOU do through a verbal request, their PFC may trip them up with making a decision (yes or no).

Sometimes the best way to do an activity with your loved one is simply to start and ask them to join you.

“I’m sorting this laundry. Can you please pull the large towels in a pile?”

“Mom, will you shuffle the dominoes?”

“Do you want the 5 lb. dumbbell or the 8 lb. one for exercise with me?”

If you find these tips helpful, please share our posts with someone who needs to hear them. We also host a monthly support group at the . Our next one is today (Thursday, July 10 at 2:30 PM).

We are so excited and honored to welcome Adria Thompson from to join us this week! We are fortunate to be connected to ...
09/07/2025

We are so excited and honored to welcome Adria Thompson from to join us this week!

We are fortunate to be connected to such wonderful advocates and educators in the dementia care space.

Adria shares her knowledge with hundreds of thousands of followers on her social media channels, and this week we are lucky to have that kind of support given face to face with our care team, families, and our community at large at our support group meeting on Thursday.

More to come on our visit from Adria this week!

💜

“I hope there’s a hen house in heaven. Where I can sit and watch them all day. I’ll watch them all feed, as I throw out ...
19/06/2025

“I hope there’s a hen house in heaven. Where I can sit and watch them all day.

I’ll watch them all feed, as I throw out some seed, and let them scratch in the hay.

The happy old sound in the morning, when the sun shares its light for the day.

The click of their song, as they wander along, and the hens all come out for a play.” 🐓 🧺

Our chickens sure have been a way for the residents to use their “purpose” at Bella Groves:

Collecting eggs all throughout the day (chickens produce a lot!)

Having an excuse to get some fresh air and go out on an “excursion” to the coop

Spending 1-1 time with our care partners

Making family visits more exciting (fostering intergenerational connections)

Recently, a care team member took a whole group out on a field trip to the coop and then came back inside to share stories about the history of chickens! 🐔

Not to mention, chicken eggs tend to be warm, and our residents tend to get cold easily! 🥚 They’ve enjoyed the sensory experience of holding the eggs as well!

Every detail can be a meaningful engagement and source of joy. ☀️

The chickens have really warmed up to us, too.. . But it’s likely because they’re getting a lot of snacks these days. 🍉🍑🍌🥝

Love > Dementia
Joy > Dementia



At Bella Groves, we are firm believers and teachers in entering into our residents’ reality, rather than bringing them i...
12/06/2025

At Bella Groves, we are firm believers and teachers in entering into our residents’ reality, rather than bringing them into our own.

This means that if they believe an award show is supposed to take place, then that reality is true to them. It is our job to come alongside them, validate what they believe, and accomplish it together!

After all, Bella Groves is our residents’ home; we just work here!

It was such a proud moment recently when a care team member took a resident’s frame of mind and turned it into a wonderful engagement for all!

When Miss N kept asking when the “award show” was going to be held, Heather decided to make awards for every single resident and provide Miss N with the winning prize!🏆 🥇 Heather turned it into an event that made everyone feel special, seen, and included. It would have been much easier to just say that there was no award show! But that’s not how we do things around here.

Do you struggle to engage with someone living with dementia? Please reach out to our team at Bella Groves; we would be overjoyed to help.

Love > Dementia



A huge shout-out is SO well-deserved for our team members, Yvonne and Heather. The truth is, these two ladies uphold our...
05/06/2025

A huge shout-out is SO well-deserved for our team members, Yvonne and Heather.

The truth is, these two ladies uphold our mission and values to the highest degree, and even exceed them. They are team players, they are all-in, and they always prioritize engagement and therefore GREATLY enrich the quality of life of our sweet residents.

We hope that their head hits the pillow every night and that they have a smile on their face, knowing the difference they make.

- Yvonne is the reason for the beginning of our clubs. This woman not only initiated them, but she helps lead them much of the time. Yvonne is also highly skilled in throwing multiple “mini-parties” throughout the week for the residents. She decorates, makes them feel super special, gets other care team members involved, and guides the whole event so that it is broken down and easier to process for an individual living with dementia. None of this is asked of her.

- Heather is one of the highest advocates for resident programming. She makes sure every day that our team takes initiative on activities, and she leads the most natural, fun, and JOYful events. Heather has recently begun to lead a music class that very much resembles music therapy. She guides the residents to express themselves through facial expressions and move their bodies in a way that makes sense to them. It’s inspiring to watch.

It is vital to have these two ladies on our team. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. You make Bella Groves what it is and what we aspire for it to become.

Many people get tripped up by the concept of coordinating activities for individuals living with dementia. This is compl...
05/06/2025

Many people get tripped up by the concept of coordinating activities for individuals living with dementia. This is completely understandable and requires some training and personal experience to overcome. 💕

You hear families express things such as:

“They just don’t want to do anything anymore.”

“They can’t do the things they used to do.”

“They’ve lost interest in everything.”

From the team at Bella Groves, we want to encourage you:

1) Activities don’t have to be extravagant to be meaningful.

2) There doesn’t have to be a holiday to warrant a celebration.

3) Our team throws spontaneous events all throughout the week to redeem the time and create many little pockets of joy. This may look like:

- Sporadic baking 1-1s

- Homemade gift bags a care partner has made for an event

- Watching a western show while wearing cowboy hats

- Dressing up in scarves, fun hats, and glasses

- A bowling competition and a new club name in the works!

- Fun plates to eat dessert on

And MORE!

You can make any life event as exciting or as casual as you would like! May you be empowered to find joy in the mundane! 🎉🤩

“The life that I have is all that I have, and the life that I have is yours.” -Leo Marks



“And have you too been trudging like that,Sometimes almost forgetting how wondrous the world isAnd how miraculously kind...
05/06/2025

“And have you too been trudging like that,
Sometimes almost forgetting how wondrous the world is
And how miraculously kind some people can be?
And have you too decided that probably nothing important
Is ever easy?

Not, say, for the first sixty years

Halleluiah, I’m sixty now, and even a little more,
And some days I feel I have wings.” 🪽

-Halleluiah by Mary Oliver

Love > Dementia

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