The Cottages
Billings, Montana

A New Model of Caring

The Cottages at St. John's opened in August 2005 with the dedication of the Langemo Cottage and the Moorberg Cottage. These cottages were named after the first two board chairs of St. John's, Walter T. Langemo and Ray Moorberg.

The Cottages-style model of care is the future for nursing homes. It fulfills a need for people who are in the first stages of Alzheimer's disease or dementia in a home-like setting. The philosophy of the elder-centered care Cottages, is to "Bring our elders back home again."

The Langemo and Moorberg Cottages are each 12-person cottages which provide every resident a private room and private bath, as well as access to a shared kitchen, living room, den and outdoor patio. Residents will be invited to help with meal preparation, and lunch and dinner will be eaten as a group at 15-foot long, handmade tables in the dining room. Residents will have more freedom in the Cottages than they would in traditional nursing home Alzheimer's units.

Each Cottage is staffed by at least two "Elder Sharaths", or Caregivers, at a time. They will be in charge of cooking, cleaning and helping residents with their personal care. Elder Sharaths have almost 250 hours of training for the Assisted Living Alzheimer's Cottages. They are excited to be part of the goal of creating a nurturing home environment where people have their own identity.

While the Cottages have only been open for a short time, the results have been outstanding. The Cottages are the future of St. John's, and beginning in 2006, more Cottages will be built to accommodate our nursing home residents.

For more information call Nancy Fee, Director of Special Services, at 655-5632.