SAGE Presents Brio of Johnston POE

Thursday, November 17th, 2022

This week, SAGE presented “Notes from the Field: A SAGE Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Brio of Johnston” for its members and the public.

If you missed it, and would like to learn more, SAGE has shared the presentation and it is available here at this link.

Brio is a WesleyLife Community designed by Pope Design Group, and it was honored with the Environments for Aging (EFA) Design Showcase top honor in 2020.

In early March 2022, SAGE conducted its 6th Annual Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) of the Brio community, spending a few days observing the community and conducting interviews with staff, residents and family members to understand what is working as designed and intended and what needs improvement.

The “Notes from the Field” presentation by Amy Carpenter and Mandy Kachur highlighted lessons learned as designers and providers look to improve environments for older adults. The presentation focused on the themes of Modern Farmhouse Style, Integration of Care Levels, Acoustics and Household Design.

A whitepaper will be release later this year by the SAGE POE team and will be featured nationally at EFA and LeadingAge national conferences.

The Brio community opened in January 2019, and is designed with wellness as its foundation. It pushes innovation to create a continuum of care community designed fully around healthy living and person-centered care. Sited on 22 acres in a suburb of Des Moines, the community serves 55+ through all stages of care, including end of life and late stage Alzheimer’s. Check out the project page linked here to learn more.

SAGE (the Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments), is a non-profit organization with the mission of promoting collaboration and expanding knowledge among aging services providers, design professionals, regulators, residents, researchers, manufacturers, educators, students and others interested in providing innovative and appropriate environments for older adults.