Page 9 - Healthcare News Jan/Feb 2022

Peace of Mind
JGS Lifecare Incorporates Memory Care into Entire Continuum of Services
he connection between music and memory is a complex and often surprising one. Just ask the families of loved ones with dementia at Ruth’s House, the assisted-living residence on the JGS Lifecare
campus in Longmeadow.
“We ask, ‘what sort of music did your loved one enjoy?’ Then we have
volunteers come in and build personal playlists,” said Susan Halpern, vice president of Development and Communications at JGS. “It’s amazing
to see the reactions — to see someone who’s agitated get less agitated, or someone who had been very quiet come out of their shell because they’re hearing something that’s very familiar to them.”
Mary-Anne Schelb, director of Business Development, has also seen the results of what JGS calls its music and memory program.
“Maybe they’re not much of a talker, and suddenly they’re singing this song. It’s hard to carry on a conversation with them, but when the music comes on, they remember every word. The artistic and creative ability is re- ally the last to go. It’s in there — we just need to know how to pull it out.”
Or, as Halpern put it, “it’s about meeting them where they are.” That’s
why residents’ families fill out a long (around eight pages) resident profile upon admission, Schelb added.
“We really want to get to know your mom or dad, and we want to know what they like and don’t like, because then we utilize that.”
y JOSEPH BEDNAR
“If they can’t stand bingo, we’re
not going to try to push bingo. Or
if they love hot-air balloons, we
can go up to them and ask, ‘hey, do
you know we’re showing a hot-air-
balloon movie in the movie room?’
You see their face light up — ‘you
are? I love hot-air balloons.’ The
profile is time-consuming, but we
really want to get to know your
mom or dad, and we want to know
what they like and don’t like, because then we utilize that.”
BT
Meeting residents where they are is especially important for those with early- to mid-stage memory impairments and other dementia-related diseases who live in the Garden at Ruth’s House, a separate, secure neigh- borhood that caters to individuals with increased cognitive and physical limitations, including Alzheimer’s and dementia, and where staff members are specifically trained to care for individuals in need of memory care.
But what some might not know, Schelb said, is that JGS has, over the years, incorporated specific memory-care training across its contimuum of services, from Spectrum Home Health & Hospice Care to Wernick Adult Day Health Care; from the Leavitt Family Jewish Home to the Sosin Center
Ruth’s House dedicates
its lower-
level Garden neighborhood to memory care.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM 9
MEMORY CARE