Since opening its doors in 1989, Brookridge — a Life Plan Community owned and operated by ThriveMore — has been dedicated to creating an impeccable senior living experience.
Always continuing to invest in its community, the 46-acre wooded campus will soon be home to an innovative option for persons with dementia and their families — as EverTogether Residence has a planned opening for early 2027.
“This is an innovative memory care solution that allows residents with dementia and their care partners to stay together in this new home at Brookridge in Winston-Salem,” shares Julianna Jones, Director of Communications. “Unlike traditional models of memory care, residents and their care partners will live together in a cozy and inviting home, but with full healthcare and support available for residents with dementia.”
The idea for this unique residence — the first of its kind — was inspired by a visit ThriveMore President and CEO Reed VanderSlik made to a support group for partners of those needing memory care years ago. The standard practice in senior living is that the person needing memory care support must move into a separate residence where that care is offered — so one clear message came from that interaction: Even if a caregiver knows their loved one is in good hands, the separation is simply heartbreaking. One man shared that simple daily acts such as eating dinner together, holding hands as they fell asleep, and other sentimental routines they had established through the years were not possible with how memory care was set up. Reed began exploring ways to change that — which grew into this new residence format at Brookridge.
The EverTogether Residence will be a circular building made up of 12 homes, a central courtyard, and community area where the person needing memory care would receive support from trained professionals.
“From the outside, it looks like a traditional neighborhood street. Inside, each unit features a room that can be secured for the resident with dementia when the independent living partner needs to leave for a time. This room opens to the inner core, which provides access for healthcare workers to safely provide memory care services. These staff members will be consistent care partners, trained experts in caring for those with cognitive loss,” shares Reed.
Memory care residents and their care partners will maintain familiar routines and connection, without a clinical setting. Knowing their neighbors are going through similar adjustments will also provide much-needed emotional support for all.
Honored recently with the prestigious Fluxx Award 2025 in the category of Leadership in Senior Living Transformation — Health and Wellness, USA — Reed hopes this innovative approach can become a blueprint for other senior living communities around the country. As word has spread, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from those with first-hand experience of having a loved one in memory care.
“It would open up a whole new program to help people who want to be with their loved one — staying with their spouse instead of being separated from them,” said Nancy Pyles, a Brookridge resident whose husband passed away from dementia. Nancy said she would have loved to live in a place like the EverTogether Residence with her husband of more than half a century. Instead, she had to say goodbye to him each night because they couldn’t continue staying together.
“I didn’t like being separated from Richard,” she said. “We’d been married so long, and he was always there. And I wanted him to continue to be there.”
“The EverTogether Residence represents what’s possible when we listen to couples and design care around their lives, not their diagnosis,” Reed explains. “It’s a place where love, dignity and belonging remain at the center, even as needs change. My hope is that EverTogether becomes not just a home for the couples who live here, but a model that inspires others across senior living to think differently about memory care and what it can be.”
Brookridge — a Life Plan Community by ThriveMore — is located at 1199 Hayes Forest Drive, Winston-Salem, NC, 336-753-5267. For more information visit brookridgecommunity.org, and to learn more about moving into the EverTogether Residence, contact Stephanie Shafer at 336-759-1044.
