MARS — A new assisted living facility for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia opened Thursday on the St. John Specialty Care Center Campus.

About 100 people attended the grand opening and toured the Mars campus facility afterward.

The 30-bed facility called RoseCrest will offer 24-hour support services for seniors with early and middle stage Alzheimer’s as well as others suffering from memory loss.

The facility, which is shaped like a butterfly, is divided into two “cottages” with a large common area in the middle that contains a chapel and dining room.

Each section of the facility will house 15 residents.

Each room will have a large living area as well as a courtyard that will be secured so patients will be able to enjoy the outdoors without leaving the premises.

Karen Russell, executive director of the St. John Specialty Care Center, said the facility provides an “intimate, homelike” setting for patients.

RoseCrest also will cater to the physical, spiritual, educational, psychological, cultural and creative needs of each resident, she said.

David J. Fenoglietto, president and chief executive officer of Lutheran Senior Life, said RoseCrest builds on the already impeccable reputation of the St. John Specialty Care Center in Mars.

The “one of a kind” facility offers many amenities for patients, including salons, creative arts rooms and recreation rooms.

The service and care patients receive at RoseCrest will be second to none, he said, in part because of the 7-to-1 staff-to-patient ratio. The ratio will allow for high quality and more personalized care for patients, Fenoglietto said.

Fenoglietto also thanked the crowd in attendance, many of whom played a crucial role in the fundraising process for the new facility.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” he said. “But it takes a very large village of caring and dedicated people to build such a beautiful facility.”

Several Lutheran bishops from across the region attended the ceremony and offered prayers of thanks as well as prayers for future patients.

Three of those bishops, who sat in the front row of the chapel listening to Fenoglietto’s speech, were present for the groundbreaking ceremony in July 2009 and came back to help bless the facility.

One of the people honored was the late Dr. Robert Graham, who died before the facility’s completion.

Graham spearheaded the fundraising effort that helped raise $2.5 million for RoseCrest.

Graham, along with many other volunteers, reached out to more than 1,400 donors, including corporations, churches, organizations and families.

In memory and recognition of Graham’s hard work, officials Thursday dedicated the road leading into RoseCrest as Graham Way.