Armbrook Village Receives Purple Flag for Dementia Care Accreditation

WESTFIELD — Armbrook Village, an assisted-living and memory-support community located in Westfield, held a flag-raising ceremony to celebrate becoming the first in Western Mass. to receive the Purple Flag for Dementia Care accreditation.

Purple Flag is a collaboration between the Institute for Senior Living Education and the Connecticut Assisted Living Assoc., but has since expanded outside of Connecticut. The program’s standards evaluate an organization’s capacity to provide collaborative care in a safe, functional, and respectful environment, ensuring high-quality care and overall quality of life for residents. As part of the evaluation process, Armbrook Village had to demonstrate adherence to 60 best-practice standards and training outlined by Purple Flag for services provided to individuals living with Alzheimer’s and related dementia.

The flag-raising event provided an opportunity for the community’s associates, residents, family members, and local elder-care professionals to celebrate the milestone achievement.

“It’s an honor to be the first community in Western Mass. to receive the Purple Flag accreditation,” said Julie Waniewski, executive director at Armbrook Village. “I don’t have to tell everyone here that Armbrook loves being a trailblazer in this area. From our history-making Dementia Friendly initiative to the LGBTQ Cultural Competency training program we adopted, we don’t like to sit still for very long. I know Armbrook also has a reputation as a trendsetter, and with this in mind, I truly hope other assisted-living communities in our area are encouraged to go through this process with Purple Flag.”

State Sen. John Velis offered congratulations to Armbook Village for the accomplishment. “Accreditations, such as the Purple Flag, recognize the extensive work to create thoughtful programing and educate staff about memory loss conditions,” he noted. “Not only will this accreditation improve the lives of each person who enters through Armbrook’s doors with a dementia-related disease, but it will also bring comfort to their families knowing that their loved one is receiving the highest standard of care.”