“Every six months, we’ll meet with the resident’s family,” explains Yalonda Pinder, the community’s dementia care coordinator.

“I speak with family members about resident needs. If they have special interests, we ensure we can cater to them.”

For example, Yalonda, a fan of both her hometown Coatesville Red Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys, knows that one of her residents is a big Philadelphia Eagles fan. On her watch, he doesn’t miss a game—and he has company. “We’ll make sure the TV is set up. We make sure he has a drink and his snacks. We’ll sit and watch the game with him,” she says. And that’s not all. “He likes to go to the exercise room, so we take him over. For Halloween, he was a Jack-in-the-box. He danced and smiled all day and was still talking about it the next day.”

Caring for residents and staff
Yalonda has decades of experience in senior services, and has worked in both assisted living and dementia care. She was an aide for 22 years. Now she oversees the dementia caregivers at Simpson Meadows and ensures that they are meeting residents’ needs. She makes sure that the department is stocked with necessary supplies. And she puts together programs for the residents.

“We do music sing-alongs, trivia, arts and crafts, baking… Bingo is the favorite,” she relates.  She is working on an Adopt-a-Grandparent program. In addition, Girl Scouts come to the unit to play games. “The residents love when the kids come.”

Going forward, her goal is to find an even greater variety of new activities for the residents, and also to support a great—and harmonious—atmosphere for the staff. A new Employee of the Month program will include staff from both Assisted Living and Dementia Care.

Family footsteps
Yalonda isn’t the only one in her family in senior services—or even the only one in her family at Simpson Meadows. Her daughter Teasia is a caregiver in the community as well. “We both work day shift, but she is usually on the Assisted Living floor, so I am not exactly her boss,” Yalonda laughs. Yalonda also has an identical twin sister who also works in dementia care. When she’s not working, Yalonda loves spending time with her two-year-old and five-year-old granddaughters.

Call 610-269-8400 or submit the form below to see for yourself how Yalonda and the rest of our staff make Simpson Meadows the best in senior living.