Choosing a dementia care home for someone you love is an important decision. Families often begin with questions about safety, care, costs, and what everyday life will look like.
But there is another question worth asking.
Will the person I love feel at home here?
For more than 25 years, Highview has focused on creating homes where people who have dementia can continue to enjoy familiar routines, meaningful relationships, and as much independence as possible, for as long as possible.
At Highview Lucan, that experience comes together in Owens Cottage, our dedicated dementia care home, thoughtfully designed within a beautiful Main Street setting in the heart of Lucan, Ontario.
A Beautiful Home in the Heart of Lucan
There's something special about small-town life.
Familiar streets, local shops, churches, community celebrations, and neighbours who have known one another for years are all part of what makes Lucan such a lovely place to call home.
Located at 139 Main Street, Highview Lucan brings a new approach to care and living into this established community, just north of London.
The building has been thoughtfully renovated to create a warm, welcoming home with beautiful natural light, comfortable shared spaces, and places for people to gather throughout the day.
For families from Lucan, Exeter, St. Marys, Grand Bend, London, and surrounding rural communities, Highview offers an opportunity to consider dementia care in a familiar small-town setting, close to the people and places that matter.
Curious what life looks like at Owens Cottage in Lucan?
Come for a VisitWelcome to Owens Cottage
Owens Cottage is Highview Lucan's dedicated, secure dementia care home, located on the second floor.
Home to up to 21 people, Highview Lucan has been intentionally designed to support the changing needs of people who have dementia.
Large windows bring beautiful natural light into the cottage, while welcoming common spaces provide places to gather for meals, conversation, familiar activities, or simply to enjoy the company of others.
The design supports familiarity and wayfinding, helping people move through their day with as much independence as possible.
Unlike a traditional large care setting, our approach focuses on creating the everyday feeling of home, where people are known as individuals and supported according to their own routines, interests, and abilities.
Thoughtful Dementia Design, Including Circadian Lighting
Good dementia design is about much more than beautiful finishes.
It's about understanding how people experience the spaces around them and creating a home that supports comfort, familiarity, and daily life.
One of the distinctive features of Highview Lucan is circadian lighting throughout the dementia care home.
This specialized lighting changes in brightness and colour temperature over the course of the day, helping provide cues that reflect natural patterns of daylight and evening.
For people who have dementia, appropriate daytime and evening lighting may help support natural sleep-wake rhythms and daytime alertness, although individual responses vary.
Together with the cottage's generous natural light, thoughtful layout, and comfortable shared spaces, the lighting is part of Highview's approach to designing a home specifically around dementia.
Visit Highview Lucan. See our one shared home community on Main Street for yourself.
Book a TourYour Day, Your Rhythm
At Highview Lucan, we believe the day should be guided by the person, rather than an imposed schedule.
Someone who enjoys sleeping in can have a slower morning. Another person might be up early, ready for coffee and breakfast.
Some people enjoy helping with everyday tasks, listening to music, looking through photographs, or participating in familiar activities. Others prefer a quiet place to sit and enjoy the company of those around them.
Our Associates gently support each person through their day, encouraging independence wherever possible and providing help whenever needed.
We believe in doing with, not doing for.
Dementia changes many things. It does not erase the person.
Opportunities for Connection Across Generations
Highview Lucan is also a private intergenerational home, bringing together retirement living, Supported Independent Living, and dedicated dementia care under one roof.
Owens Cottage remains a secure, dedicated dementia care home on the second floor, with its own familiar routines, shared spaces, and specialized Associates.
But being part of a larger home community can create some lovely opportunities for connection.
Someone who lives elsewhere in Highview Lucan might visit Owens Cottage to read with a person who has dementia, play a game together, enjoy a television program, or simply spend time visiting.
These are the kinds of everyday connections we hope to encourage, thoughtfully and with consideration for each person's interests, comfort, and care needs.
Intergenerational living doesn't mean everyone participates in everything. It means recognizing opportunities for friendship, contribution, and belonging when they naturally fit.
Sometimes the most meaningful moments are also the simplest.
Care That Knows the Person
Thoughtful dementia care involves more than helping with daily tasks.
Our Associates bring specialized dementia care experience and an understanding of how dementia can change communication, routines, abilities, and the support someone needs.
They take time to learn about each person's history, preferences, relationships, and the things that bring comfort and joy.
How do they like their morning coffee? What helps when they're feeling uncertain? Which music brings a smile? Do they enjoy company or quieter moments?
Knowing these details helps care feel familiar and personal.
Our team provides support with personal care, medications, meals, mobility, and changing needs throughout the day and night.
Families remain important partners, sharing the knowledge and relationships that help each person continue to feel known.
How to Choose a Dementia Care Home in Lucan, Ontario
If you're beginning to explore dementia care in Lucan, here are some practical considerations.
1. Begin with the Person
Before comparing homes, think about what matters most to the person you love.
What routines bring comfort? What abilities remain? What support is becoming more important?
A good starting point is imagining what an ordinary, enjoyable day might look like six months from now.
2. Understand Your Care Options
In Ontario, families can explore private retirement living, Assisted Living, and dedicated dementia care without applying through Ontario Health atHome. Waiting times are generally shorter, depending on availability.
Long-term care follows a different pathway. Applications are coordinated through Ontario Health atHome, and waiting times can be two years or longer, depending on the community and homes selected.
The government subsidizes nursing and personal care, while individuals contribute toward accommodation costs.
Some families choose private dementia care while waiting for long-term care. This is sometimes called a gap strategy.
Exploring dementia care near Lucan? Visit Owens Cottage, a secure dementia care home designed around the feeling of home.
Come for a Visit3. Visit Two or Three Homes
Websites and photographs are helpful, but visiting allows you to see daily life.
Look beyond the bedroom. Notice the shared spaces, dining areas, outdoor gardens, and how team members interact with people.
Ask what an ordinary Tuesday looks like.
And ask how the home gets to know someone beyond their medical history.
Feel free to visit our dementia home at Highview Lucan.
4. Understand the Costs and Future Care Needs
Ask what is included in the monthly fee, which services cost extra, and how the home supports changing care needs.
Can someone remain in the home if they need more help with mobility, eating, or personal care?
Understanding these details early can help you plan with greater confidence.
4. Think About Timing and Moving Day
There isn't always one clear moment when it's time to move.
Consider daily life, safety, social connection, and the well-being of the person providing most of the care.
When the time comes, familiar furniture, photographs, routines, and a carefully planned moving day can help make the transition gentler.
Come See Highview Lucan for Yourself
The best way to understand life at Owen’s Cottage in Lucan is to visit.
Walk through the cottages. Spend time in the gardens. Meet the Associates. Ask questions about care and everyday life.
Phone number: 1 (877) 777-6523
There's no pressure. Just an open invitation to see what home feels like here.
We also offer our free 7 Steps to Choosing a Dementia Care Home guide, with practical questions and tools to help families understand their options.
Even if the person you love never moves into a Highview Home, we hope our experience can make a difficult process a little easier.
Dementia Care in Lucan
A home, not a facility.
Owens Cottage is a secure dementia care home with natural light, circadian lighting and welcoming shared spaces, part of one shared home community on Main Street in Lucan. If you're wondering whether it's time, or just want to see what life could look like for someone you love, we'd be glad to show you around. Take your time. We're here to help.
Come for a Visit