By JON BAKER

LINCOLN — Herb George considers himself a passionate man who exists to help others, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-like afflictions.

He decided over two decades ago to chase the concept of constructing a center, one dedicated only to that type of care.
Through a lot of brainstorming, hard work, devotion and communication with those who understood his quest and chose to finance it, George now is seeing it spring to life.
Albion Court — a specialized memory-care community located on a parcel of land on Albion Road, less than a mile from the Route 116 intersection — isn’t quite there yet: It had been slated to open around Nov. 1, but that deadline now has been pushed back to February’s first week.
Still, that doesn’t faze George or his colleagues on iota.
“It’s a dream come true,” said George, a 66-year-old native Seekonkian and owner/president of H.L. George Development Corp. of Bristol, which heads this project, not to mention others in Exeter, Canton and Burlington, Mass. and even Connecticut (those are considered mere seedlings at this point).
“If you ask me if I can believe it, yes, I can. I’m loving watching this place go up. The people I’ve got behind me -- our management team, my executive director (Joann Cardullo), the investors, the builders -- all of them have believed in this from the beginning.”
The public will have the opportunity to peruse the center — to include four distinct, secured “neighborhoods” of 56 private rooms and four double-occupancy suites — this Wednesday between 2-6 p.m. George and Cardullo refer to it as a “Dusty Shoe” tour.
“This event is our true introduction to the community,” said Nancy Nelson, vice-president of marketing of Hassan Management Services, Inc. of Shelburne, Vt., who made the trek from her Ohio home to visit. “First of all, we want to let people know we’re close to opening, and also show them what we’ll offer, what makes Albion Court so special. We want folks who may have family members with Alzheimer’s or associated afflictions to come in and see that their loved ones will be safe and taken care of.
“All people have to do is bring old, warm shoes,” she added with a chuckle. “Like I said, we’re not quite done yet.”
Key staff members, including seasoned health-care professionals who specialize in memory care, will be available to answer all queries.
“This has been a team effort,” Nelson offered. “We’ve done these kinds of ‘Dusty Shoe’ tours before, opening up other senior communities throughout New England, but none are as specialized as this one. The construction is not yet completed, but we know people are curious as to how it’s progressed.
“We’ve received a lot of phone calls,” she added. “People tell us they have a family member who has or is suffering from memory loss, and they’d like to know what kind of care we’d provide, and how this is different from other assisted living residences with an Alzheimer’s wing. The answer is simple: We’re exclusive only to Alzheimer’s and dementia-like symptoms.”

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While the buildings are up, courtesy of Anodyne Corp. of East Providence, officials still must address typical issues: Putting up drywall, finishing carpentry work, garnering licenses from the R.I. Department of Health and State Fire Marshal’s office, paving driveways and parking areas, landscaping and the like.
However, choosing the staff is near completion, as officials conducted a “Job Fair” at a nearby hotel just last weekend.
“We’ve hired 75 percent of the staff, and we had over 200 applicants,” stated Cardullo, Albion Court’s executive director. “We’re planning on creating an additional 55 jobs for the community, those who are unemployed. They include nursing aides, certified nursing assistants, cooks, dishwashers, housekeepers, maintenance workers.”
The price tag: $60-65,000 per annum for single apartments, about $67,200 for doubles, which would be available to couples, sisters or brothers who share the same afflictions.
“That’s the average price throughout the state, and -- given our demographic feasibility study -- all residences are 98.6 percent full,” George insisted. “There is huge demand for this type of care. Statistics indicate that, over the next 35-40 years, Alzheimer’s (and similar afflictions) will comprise the largest single segment of the population.
“We’ve spoken with six or seven interested parties who could become future residents, but -- actually -- we’re anticipating getting residents from the Boston area right on down to South County in Rhode Island,” he added. “We’re planning on the average age of population to be 85, because 50 percent of the nation’s population over 85 has Alzheimer’s. However, one of the great things about our community is we’re going to dedicate a wing, or neighborhood, to a younger population of residents, those who have memory loss at a more tender age.
“Being that this is need-driven, we don’t usually get people to register four months in advance. Despite that, we’ve had an awful lot of inquiries, and I’m impressed by that. I will say that if we only have seven residents in that first week of February, we’re going to open. Actually, we’re looking for a gradual fill-up so we have time to train staff and ensure quality care to our residents.”
Cardullo stated Albion Court will offer whatever care a person living there will need.
“We’ll have nursing aides to give hands-on care; medical aides to administer prescriptions; activities staff for ‘non-failing’ recreational programs,” she said. “Our residents will have whatever care they need -- inclusive -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We also will have the most up-to-date research and information available on caring for those individuals.
“We have the passion and commitment to make this work, and we can’t wait to get it all started, to fill such a critical need,” she continued. “We’re looking to get into the residents’ worlds, not to pull them into ours. We’re designing the environment to fit, and fill, their needs.”
Dr. William Cesare, with George a co-chairman (and co-investor) of the Albion Special Care LLC and also a Lincoln resident, admitted back in May that he committed with his heart, soul and wallet less than an hour after he heard George’s pitch to investors at a Providence attorney’s office.
“I was totally drawn to Herb George and his passion for the project,” said Cesare, owner and president of Industrial Health Strategies Inc. of Providence and former clinical psychologist, at that time. “He spoke about the quality services and programming for the center, and developing a premier facility here in southern New England.
“I understood (those with Alzheimer’s) are a group that currently is massively underserved,” he added. “Herb wasn’t going to cut any corners, and I wanted to be a part of something so special.”
On Wednesday, Cesare updated his comments, call them emotions.
“When I look at this place, I see a vision coming to fruition,” he stated. “This is the realization of our desire to create a valuable resource for the community. I want everyone to know that they can witness a state-of-the-art memory care facility next Wednesday. I’m really interested in hearing their comments.”