Our approach
The Waverly Cognitive Model.
Most memory care settings can provide meals, medication, bathing, and supervision. What happens between those tasks is where Waverly is different.
The house is not the differentiator. What operates inside it is.
Waverly at Great Falls is designed as a small, private residential alternative to traditional memory care. The concept is intentionally different from a large assisted living or memory care community.
Rather than asking a person living with dementia to adapt to an institutional schedule, Waverly adapts the home, the daily routine, the staff approach, and the cognitive interventions around the individual.
The goal is to create the feeling of living in a beautiful private home while providing the structure, supervision, assistance, cognitive engagement, and behavioral support that become necessary as dementia progresses.
The Waverly Cognitive Model
Dementia-informed thinking shapes the entire day.
Waverly is not intended to feel like a facility with activities added to it. Cognitive engagement and dementia-informed approaches influence every part of the day — including waking, dressing, meals, bathing, transitions, rest, socialization, and evening routines.
Individualized cognitive interventions
Every resident's cognitive profile, history, preferences, and behavioral patterns inform a personalized intervention plan. There is no one-size-fits-all program — each person's day is shaped around who they are and what supports them.
Dementia-informed behavioral approaches
Staff are trained to understand the behavioral expressions of dementia — not as problems to manage, but as communication to interpret. Responses are calm, consistent, and grounded in an understanding of what the individual is experiencing.
Montessori-inspired programming
Drawing on Montessori principles adapted for dementia care, activities are designed to match each resident's current abilities — offering just enough challenge to engage without causing frustration. Purposeful, hands-on, and dignity-affirming.
ABA-informed observation and intervention
Where appropriate, Applied Behavior Analysis principles guide how staff observe, document, and respond to behavioral patterns — creating consistency across shifts and enabling thoughtful adjustments over time.
Cognitive Comfort™ approaches
Environments, routines, and interactions are designed to reduce anxiety, confusion, and agitation. Predictability, sensory calibration, and familiar cues create a sense of safety and ease throughout the day.
Meaningful engagement
Every hour of the day is an opportunity.
Engagement at Waverly is not a scheduled activity block. It is woven into the fabric of daily life — in the kitchen, in the garden, in conversation, in music, in the quiet moments between.
These are not add-ons. They are the day itself.
Go deeper
How does the daily model actually work — hour by hour?
Staff and family
Trained staff. Informed families.
Every member of the Waverly team is trained in dementia-specific care, communication, and behavioral support. They are not rotating through a large facility — they know each resident, their history, their preferences, and the subtle signals that matter.
Families are partners in this work. We provide ongoing education, open communication, and a genuine invitation to be involved. Understanding dementia — and understanding your loved one's experience of it — is part of how we care together.
We'd welcome the chance to walk you through our approach.
Whether you are early in your search or ready to make a decision, we are happy to answer questions and help you understand whether Waverly is the right fit.
Schedule a Visit