MENTAL HEALTH ON THE FRONT BURNER
Some organizations were fortunate enough to have some tools
and processes already in place to promote interaction and prevent isolation. For example, Paula Harder, vice president of resident programs at Commonwealth Senior Living in Charlottesville, Va., said they had headsets that enabled residents to communicate with family and friends during window visits. “We already had the in- frastructure in place. We hope that it never happens again, but we will continue to focus on this infrastructure and what we can do different or better next time,” she said. It is important to note that it doesn’t take a pandemic to promote
isolation. Matt Reiners, co-founder and vice president of Ever- sound, observed that 80% of people over age 85 have some hear- ing loss and few are using hearing aids. “If someone has moderate hearing loss, they are 3-5 times more likely to develop dementia. And a study just came out showing that hearing aid use makes people 19% less likely to develop dementia.” His company’s headsets are noise reducing and enable people
to listen to individual music or other audio or share audio with others wearing headsets. “We found that these headsets improve engagement by 70%,” he said.
Geting to Know You There is widespread agreement that it is essential to know residents – their histories, their preferences, their fears, and their joys – to pro- vide effective memory care. Frantz said, “We focus a lot on residents’ life stories. We find platforms around the world to engage residents.
16 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE MAY/JUNE 2023
Our residents haven’t lost their dignity, and everyone needs to un- derstand that just because they’re in memory care doesn’t mean that they can’t learn, share, and have a purpose.,” she said. Frantz noted that her directors of nursing in memory care com-
munities utilize life stories to personalize service plans. Staff have devices where they can access these and use them to provide care. These life stories can make a significant difference for memory
care. Frantz shared an example. “We had a resident in memory care with early onset dementia. She would get agitated by shift changes in the afternoon. We knew from her life story that she loved Janis Joplin, so we downloaded some videos and would put them on a screen for her in a quiet place. Every day, she would watch and sing and act like she’d never seen them before. It was life changing for her and for staff who were freed to focus on tasks associated with the shift change and on resident care.”
Tech Talks It’s a common misconception that older adults don’t like, understand, or use technology, but in reality, many are embracing and using tech even in memory care. Frantz said, “Our residents can still learn through technology—swiping or touch screens or icons they can use to help with communication and accessing information.” She also stressed, “We are moving into a new generation who have more of a relationship with technology.” In fact, she noted that currently, the average resident brings eight devices with them when they enter a memory care com- munity. These include phones, iPads, TVs, and Alexa type devices.
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