Alzheimer's disease patients and their caregivers in Casper might have a new option for long-term care in the future.

Mary Hein, along with a group of community members, wants to build several "pod-type nursing homes" for people with dementia where residents eat home-cooked meals at a dining room table and have their own room and bathroom.

Residents would see the same staff members every day and feel more comfortable and less confused in the home-like environment.

"They have enough going through their brains that they don't need more confusion," said Hein, executive director of Alzheimer's Wyoming. She remembers visiting a friend in a nursing home, and the friend couldn't find her way back to her room because of the long hallways.

"Here, they would walk out of their rooms into the common room. They would just sit down at the table," Hein said.

The "pods" in Casper will be similar to the Green Houses being built in Sheridan but named differently due to copyright regulations.

The project is just in its early stages, according to Kate Sarosy, a member of the Casper City Council. When Hein presented her visions at Thursday's council meeting, Sarosy said it was "a wonderful idea."

Hein needed the city council to sponsor the project, because she has sought the help of the Historic Trails Resource and Conservation District. This organization will help Hein and a new organization, Wyoming Dementia Care, find grants for the houses. They will also provide a letter of recommendation for the project.

The council, which recently completed a study on baby boomers, welcomed the idea.

"One of the things the study said was as the baby boomers age, there will be more of us and we will be living longer," Sarosy said. "Dementia hits when you live longer."

Casper has three dementia units, Hein said. All of them are full and have waiting lists, she said.

Sarosy said she doesn't anticipate needing additional funding or resources for this project outside the sponsorship from the Historic Trails Resource and Conservation District.

Hein said the project would cost about $11 million, which includes the purchase of land for the facility. Hein said someone has already offered to donate that land on the eastside of town if the project moves forward.

Instead of competing for funds with other major projects going on in the city, such as the Central Wyoming Hospice and the Casper Senior Center expansions, Hein wants to fund the project almost entirely by grants.

Wyoming Dementia Care wants to build six houses, each about 7,000 square feet, with about 11 residents per house.

The organization has already applied for 501(c)3 nonprofit recognition and begun to assemble its board of directors. Hein said she doesn't expect the project to break ground until 2010.

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.