CEO Reed VanderSlik Honored for Transforming Memory Care
Reed VanderSlik, President and CEO of ThriveMore, was honored this past week for his innovative leadership in care for older adults with dementia. His unwavering dedication and innovative mindset have led to a new type of care that could prove a blueprint for other senior living communities around the country.
VanderSlik was selected for the prestigious Fluxx Award 2025 in the category of Leadership in Senior Living Transformation – Health and Wellness, USA. He was honored at the awards ceremony in Las Vegas.
VanderSlik has had a vibrant career in senior living for more than 20 years, starting in Michigan and taking over leadership of ThriveMore in North Carolina in 2019. He’s now overseeing an innovative, never-before-seen approach to memory care.
This journey began with a visit to a support group. While working in Grand Rapids, MI, VanderSlik was invited to visit a group for partners of memory care patients.
He sat down with them and listened to their stories, and one message stood out: even though their partners were receiving good care, it was painful to be separated from their spouses who could no longer stay with them.
One man explained that for their entire 67-year marriage there were two things that he and his wife did everyday: eat dinner together and hold hands as they fell asleep. Neither of those special routines were possible with the way that memory care is set up at most senior living communities.
“It spoke volumes to me that there is a need here that we have not met for these couples that are trying to stay together,” VanderSlik said.
That man’s story stuck with VanderSlik and he was determined to see a better way for people in similar situations. He knew that he wanted to create a space where people could stay together when one person needed memory care.
This dream is now becoming a reality with ThriveMore’s EverTogether Residence, a new form of couples memory care at Brookridge Life Plan Community in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Memory care patients and their care partners will be able to live together in a cozy and inviting home, but with full healthcare and support available for the spouse with dementia. VanderSlik worked with Alan Moore of CJMW Architecture to create a first-of-its-kind residence to support this goal.
The result is a circular building comprised of 12 cozy homes all abutting a central courtyard. From the outside it looks like a traditional neighborhood street. Inside, each unit features a room in the back 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 carers, trained experts in caring for those with cognitive loss.
This unique model allows memory care patients and their care partner to maintain lifelong family routines and keep patients out of more clinical settings. It also provides both practical and intangible support for the independent living partner, with neighbors going through similar challenges with their loved ones and able to be there for one another in a variety of ways.
ThriveMore began clearing land for the residence in fall 2025 and plans to open late next year. As they’ve started spreading the word about it, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from those with first-hand experience of a loved one in memory care.
“It would open up a whole new facility to help people that want to be with their loved one -- they want to stay with their spouse instead of being separated from them,” said Nancy Piles, a Brookridge resident whose husband passed away from dementia. Nancy said she would have loved to live in a place like the Couples Memory Care 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.”
In the future, couples living at Brookridge with one person needing memory support will be able to move into the Couples Memory Care residence to continue living together with plenty of support.
This is a whole new type of residence and VanderSlik said he is excited about the possibilities it offers.
“I would love to see the Couples Memory Care residence become a model for care in other communities,” he said. “What we do here in North Carolina could be replicated in other communities throughout the nation.”
A partnership with Gregory Galford from Virginia Tech is already in the works to study the benefits and make recommendations for future models of care.