The Orlando region could soon be home to two new memory care centers by the end of the year. Bristol Senior Living, which operates several memory care facilities designed for residents with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other cognitive impairments, in St. Petersburg, Fla., Georgia and Tennessee, has been exploring the Orlando area for some time now, according to Prem R. Shah, MD, founder and CEO of the organization.

“We see Florida as having a big need for these types of facilities,” he said. “Orlando, Tampa and Naples are great places for people to retire and many are coming here to retire in record numbers. Also, in Orlando you have a diverse population of races, religion and other cultures. The common misconception is that Alzheimer’s disease and dementia mainly affect the Caucasian population and just men or just women. But it can affect anyone.”

Dr. Shah noted that most assisted living facilities often offer a memory care wing or a separate space for people who are living with memory care diseases. This is where Bristol Senior Living distinguishes itself. The residents in a Bristol facility are typically those who have memory loss due to normal aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, or other forms of dementia.

“Our facilities are entirely geared towards these memory care patients,” Dr. Shah said. “We don't have an area for independent people and then another area for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. We’re not just housing people—we are focused on making their lives better.”

By not mixing the two populations of independent and dependent patients, Bristol can focus on one set of patients solely.

“We are really trying to improve the quality of life, not just take care of them, but give a good quality-of-life with activities, with stimulation and then just good quality care,” said Dr. Shah.

It should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows Dr. Shah that he would end up in this business. After all, he grew up in the hospitality industry. His parents are founders of the Tampa, Fla.-based Liberty Group, a hotel investment, development, and management company which oversees hotels throughout the country. He also enjoyed doing charity work in his parents' hometown in India, where his father had opened an eye hospital.

During medical school, Dr. Shah interned for a psychiatrist near Atlanta and saw many patients who had memory care issues. This, along with his family’s background in hospitality, sparked his interest to open memory care centers.

“It's in my DNA to have a family business and to be hospitable towards others,” Dr. Shah said. “My parents had done that their entire lives. I wanted to be hospitable and focus on memory care issues because unfortunately there is still no cure for these diseases. For me that's a real important reason to why I went into this business. There's no cure for the disease so ultimately it’s about having compassion for this population.”

Instead of building new facilities from the ground up, Dr. Shah and his team will convert old nursing homes or assisted living facilities—properties that were in distressed or closed due to licensing issues or violations.

“As a company, we try to focus on residents or patients who cannot always afford that level of care because many times it’s very cost prohibitive and expensive,” he said. “People in the community have a perception that memory care facilities are very expensive and they don’t have the resources. Our goal is to also make our facilities affordable for families so we can care of their loved ones.”

Since healthcare is moving more towards becoming more simplified and more patient-oriented, Bristol facilities work closely with medical professionals. Instead of disrupting the daily lives of the patient, everybody from the primary doctor to the psychiatrist to pharmacist, comes to the Bristol facility to treat patients.

“Everybody, from my internal team to the outside healthcare professionals, is involved and is on the same page,” Dr. Shah explained. “They know what is going on with the patient and we really try to focus on patient-centered care. The patient is usually with us their entire life. So we are able to monitor them a lot better than in previous years.”

For more information, visit www.bristolseniorliving.com.