(soft piano music) - [Narrator] An assisted living center can be a good option for an older person if living at home becomes unmanageable and they need some help with the activities of daily living, things like bathing, getting dressed, walking, and so on.

There are 163 state-licensed assisted living centers in South Dakota, including this one on the east side of Sioux Falls.

Long hallways connect residents' rooms with common spaces like dining rooms and sitting areas.

Artwork and historical local photos adorn the walls here.

The historical photos are a new addition and they're there for a reason.

- They're meant to spur moments of joy and have people talk about "remember when."

- [Narrator] And they do.

Jeanne Edmunson and Jackie Braun live a couple of doors apart now.

But until they looked at this picture, they had no idea that they might well have crossed paths in the distant past.

- I walked by, and I was just nonchalantly walking by, and I stopped.

I said, "I worked here four-and-a-half years, "at Walgreen."

Jackie comes up and walks and she says, "Yes, and I worked just down from you."

- Farmers market.

- Farmers market.

Didn't know Jackie.

Met her when I came in here four years ago, and now we're the greatest friends.

- [Narrator] The people who choose the decor for Edgewood Healthcare's assisted living centers knew that looking at old photographs can be therapeutic for older people.

It's commonly called memory care.

- It can sometimes redirect a resident that might be upset or might be sad because things look unfamiliar to them.

So, reminiscing therapy is really something that is used a lot in a setting with dementia, but could really be used anywhere.

- [Narrator] Brakke has worked with curators at the South Dakota State archives and other institutions to track down location-specific pictures.

Edgewood operates 14 assisted living centers in South Dakota and 45 more in the Upper Midwest and West.

- I try to steer away from buying artwork that feels like it could be anywhere in the country or anywhere in the world.

I think it's really great to have historic photos that are more timeless and that have local ties, so they can say, "Remember that building, "what it used to look like," or, "That building's gone now.

"I remember now what's there," or, "I used to work at that building."

So, I think my goal is always to have something that's really personal to the local community.

- Absolutely.

So, oftentimes in healthcare it's a very sterilized setting.

Everything, it's meant to be universal.

This is not universal.

This is Sioux Falls.

This is specific to experiences that our residents have had, memories that they have.

And so, to be able to have a living environment that they can relate to and feel more like home is something very special.

- [Narrator] For some residents, gazing into history is almost like time travel.

- And I think that my dad had an old car like this, this ol' Chevy.

And...

It just brought me way back when.

(laughing) It was nice.

- [Narrator] The historic pictures project is complete at a facility in Brookings and in one of the two facilities in Sioux Falls.

Work on the Rapid City center is underway, and Edgewood Healthcare plans to extend the project to most if not all of its assisted living facilities one by one.