White Oak Cottages - Westwood, MA

Our goal at White Oak Cottages is to offer our residents homes where they enjoy excellent quality of life and quality of care. The home itself has been thoughtfully designed with the happiness and well being of our residents in mind. The White Oak Cottages are homes where people want to live and work; and where all are protected, sustained, and nurtured.

White Oak Cottages are part of the continuing care community of Fox Hill Village. Fox Hill Village has been a leader in providing gracious retirement living with a wide range of social activities and quality health care for over 20 years.

After much study, Fox Hill created White Oak Cottages, LLC to develop and operate residences that would provide compassionate, individualized care for those with dementia in a home setting. White Oak has worked with The Green House® Project to design the architecture, staff model and programs for these homes. Underwritten by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Green House Project is at the cutting edge of redesigning long term care in the US.

White Oak is committed to providing excellent personalized care to each Resident. All the aides are certified nurse assistants and there is a nurse on duty 24/7. White Oak promotes the highest standard of care through intensive and on-going staff training, and support.

White Oak considers the emotional well being of its Residents to be as important as their physical well-being. When a person enters a White Oak Cottage home, we focus on what is possible and positive within each individual. Whether enjoyment comes from participating in the daily life in the cottage, sharing stories, listening to music, or trying a new hobby, the staff is committed to making every day enjoyable for the Residents.

In most health care facilities, patients are expected to adjust their schedules to accommodate the schedules of the health care team. White Oak thinks this model of care is misplaced for those permanently living in a long term care setting. White Oak staff adjusts its schedule to accommodate the preferences and daily rhythms of the Residents. Whether Residents like to go to bed at 8 pm or midnight, want coffee at 6 am or not until mid-morning, these personal preferences will be built into the staff pattern.

On the campus of White Oak Cottages, we have 2 cottages and an administration building. Each cottage is roughly 8,200 square feet, and consists of a living room with a hearth, dining room, kitchen, den, enclosed patio and garden, and 12 private bedrooms and bathrooms. Its layout offers Residents a combination of privacy and the opportunity for engagement.

Many elements within each cottage support Residents, allowing them to achieve maximum functioning and independence:

• There are no long hallways. All bedrooms are just a short distance from the common living area, making it easier for Residents to move independently within the home.

• The cottage is flooded with natural light from the banks of windows in the living areas, the bay windows in each bedroom and the five skylights.

• The cottage is on one floor so Residents may move freely around the house.

• An enclosed garden allows residents the ability to enjoy nature in a safe manner.

• The staff paging system uses text messages, not bells or lights, to maintain a peaceful atmosphere.

• The fabrics, artwork, and color schemes take into account the visual and spatial difficulties of those with dementia, and provide gentle cueing.

• The interior and garden areas have circular traffic patterns to allow Residents to wander without the need for staff redirection.

The goal for White Oak Cottages is to provide homes where staff members look forward to going to work and where Residents enjoy every day in a protected and nurturing environment. Please come see for yourselves what White Oak Cottages have to offer.