On Tuesday, December 7, The Village at Summerville held the grand opening celebration for their new Montessori memory support neighborhood, Evergreen House, located at 201 W. 9th North Street. Many friends, community members and support staff from the Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina Management Services Office gathered to celebrate.

Executive Director, Tim Barresi, opened the ceremony with an explanation of the Montessori philosophy and remarks on the building design. “While many people are familiar with the Montessori method for teaching children, we now know that the Montessori method works wonderfully well with memory-challenged seniors”, said Barresi. President and CEO, Franklin Fant, recognized the special guests in attendance and remarked, “Evergreen House is the final jewel in the crown for The Village, our oldest and largest Presbyterian Community.”

Fant then offered a prayer and the ribbon cutting followed. After the ceremony, the guests enjoyed the opportunity to meet with the Evergreen House team and a tour of the neighborhood.

Evergreen House at The Village at Summerville will be the only one of its kind in the nation. Evergreen House is a freestanding memory care neighborhood designed to provide a supportive and engaging environment using the Montessori for Aging and Dementia philosophy. Evergreen House originated from a partnership with Jennifer Brush, MA, CCC/SLP and Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina. Jennifer Brush is the only trainer of trainers in the U.S. certified by the Association of Montessori Internationale (AMI) for Montessori for Aging and Dementia and one of two trainers in the world with this exclusive expertise. With the focus on creating the highest standard for memory care support and in conjunction with Brush, PCSC enlisted McMillian Pazdan and Smith Architects to create this state of the art setting.

Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina is a faith-based not-for-profit organization that operates six life plan communities throughout the state of South Carolina.