While it wasn’t quite the grand opening the owners expected due to the pandemic, Legend of Colorado Springs, an assisted senior living and memory care community, finally opened its doors this January.

The project had been in the works since November 2019, when construction crews first broke ground. The facility, located at 2368 Research Parkway, is owned and operated by Legend Senior Living—a 30-year-old company that operates 41 senior housing complexes in Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. 

Legend of Colorado Springs features 73 assisted living apartments and 18 memory care residences, which are currently 50 percent occupied. Due to the timing of the project, many of the facility’s design features are COVID specific.

“Residents’ apartments have their own air system which cycles their air to try to prevent airborne transmission,” said Sales Director John McKinnon. “We also purchased more individual tables for the dining room so that we could keep residents more separated.”

COMFORTABLE ASSISTED LIVING

Assisted living at Legend of Colorado Springs offers a personalized approach that tailors services to residents’ unique needs. Residents pay only for the services they choose.

Caring employees are present 24 hours a day to assist residents with the activities of daily living, including bathing and dressing, mobility and medication management.

Legend offers restaurant-style dining and a bistro area where snacks are available 24/7. The facility’s Country Kitchen walks out onto a viewing patio, which offers amazing views. Meals are prepared by Executive Chef Michael Longo, who formerly worked at The Broadmoor Hotel and Glen Eyrie Conference Center. Chef Long offers cooking demonstrations and baking classes with residents as well.

Other activities include exercise programs, bingo, card games and Legend University—college-style class with subjects that include history, genealogy and health. Residents can catch a movie matinee daily in the facility’s movie theater, complete with reclining chairs, a large screen and popcorn. The community also includes a small fitness gym where residents can work out.

While Legend is not a faith-based community, it does sit on the Focus on the Family campus.

“We do offer faith-based activities, including volunteer groups and Bible study groups,” McKinnon said.

INNOVATIVE MEMORY CARE

Memory care residents experience a unique blend of homelike comfort, innovative care and personal attention. Base services include:

• 24-hour specially trained staff
• Licensed nurse
• Medication assistance
• Tailored therapeutic and recreational experiences
• Individualized service planning
• All meals and snacks, with assistance if needed, through Gold Leaf Dining
• All laundry and housekeeping services
• Family and community support groups

Upon request, Legend’s staff can provide personal assistance with bathing, dressing, hygiene and incontinence management.

“We’re the industry leader as far as memory care standards,” McKinnon said.

Legend of Colorado Springs utilizes a patient-centered methodology called the “best friends” approach, where care providers get to know a resident’s life story and adapt their care to that person’s personal experiences. 

Likewise, Legend offers innovative therapies for Memory Care residents such as PARO, the soft, furry, therapeutic baby seal that combines robotics and bio-feedback technologies to respond to human interaction much like a living animal would.

Research shows that petting and interacting with PARO helps reduce stress and depression in people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. 

“Accessing that long-term memory helps improve a person’s short-term memory ability,” McKinnon added.

For more information on assisted living and memory care at Legend, visit the Legend Senior Living website.