She then spent a year working with the 85-year-old man, who had dementia.
“That was my first introduction into dementia care,” Osborne said.
It was an experience that led her down a career path of working with older adults, specifically with those who have varying levels of dementia, for more than a decade.
Now, Osborne is the owner of Engaging Days Senior Enrichment Center, which she is opening after seeing a need for places for older adults, especially those with mild to moderate levels of dementia.
“We are a dementia-specialized adult daycare,” Osborne said. The center offers a full schedule of activities each day that will vary from physical and cognitive exercise, as well as music and pet therapy, she said.
The center offers breakfast and lunch to their clients, and the menus are approved by a dietician, Osborne said. All of the care plans for the clients are approved by a registered nurse working with the center.
The center can help older adults with dementia who may need more support during the day but are not cognitively declined to a level of needing to live in a nursing or long-term care facility.
“If you go into a facility when you’re not really mentally there yet, you quickly decline,” Osborne said.
While the center is an adult daycare in a supervised setting, Osborne said the center aims to help older adults thrive while they are there.
“I don’t want clients to feel infantilized,” Osborne said about why she doesn’t use the term “adult daycare” on her sign.
“My goal is enrichment,” Osborne said. “...This is a place where they come and they’re not just existing, they’re thriving here, being able to socialize with people who are on the same level as them and in a failure-free environment.”
Osborne had not previously seen herself as a business owner, she said, but she saw a gap in the availability of centers like Engaging Day. There were few adult daycare centers for older adults, particularly geared toward those living with dementia.
Osborne chose Englewood as the place for her facility because, of the adult daycare centers that were available, many were south of Dayton.
“My center is in close proximity to many areas that previously had nothing like this, such as Tipp City, Vandalia and Huber Heights,” Osborne said.
The center helps give caregivers a break during the day, helping clients stay in their homes a little longer.
“The goal is to preserve their cognitive function for as long as possible,” Osborne said. “They’re still very capable...There are still so many things they can do, and I want to capitalize on what their current capabilities are.”
While dementia can be a devastating disease for families and those living with dementia, it can also lead to the individual living more in the moment, Osborne said.
“When people have dementia, they lose their inhibitions a lot of times, so they’re more free with joking and laughing and singing,” Osborne said. “...They live in the moment. They’re a lot more free.”
Engaging Days Senior Enrichment Center, located at 606 Taywood Rd., Suite 12, in Englewood, will be open Mondays through Fridays, starting April 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit engagingdays.com or call (937) 386-8715.
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