The Glen at Aberdeen Heights Community Matters September 2015

Community Matters The Glen at Aberdeen Heights

September 2015

Zero-deficiency rating highlights staff achievement The Glen at Aberdeen Heights earned a zero-deficiency survey from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services following its annual inspection Aug. 6, 2015.

“We are very proud of our staff’s achievement,” said James “Jamie” Kneen, executive director. “It is their commitment to our mission and residents that led to a deficiency-free community. By being blessed with a great team that is dedicated to Aberdeen Heights The Glen and each other, we’ve created a foundation that enables us to provide quality services for seniors every day.”

Each year, senior living communities are surveyed by their licensing agency for compliance of regulations established by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. These regulations, which number in the hundreds, are designed to ensure a standard of care is met.

By meeting this standard, senior living communities are able to renew their licenses and continue to provide care. There are 17 major

Music & Memory

Powerful project coming to Aberdeen Heights Few things are more personal than our musical tastes. Favorite songs trigger rich memories and influence our moods. That’s why social worker Dan Cohen launched an effort in 2008 to bring individualized music to residents in long-term care.

Cohen founded the nonprofit Music & Memory, which provides residents in long-term care with iPod personal music players that are loaded with each recipient’s favorite songs.

“Six of us from Aberdeen Heights attended the three- day seminar in July, three from the activity department, one Memory Care nurse, the MDS Coordinator, and a Social worker,” said Loretta Cutler, Healthcare Lifestyle Coordinator at The Glen.

SURVEY, continued on page 2

A proud member of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America

MUSIC, continued on page 2

SURVEY, continued from page 1

areas assessed, which include quality of care and physical environment.

The surveyors look at every aspect of a resident’s life, from dietary choices, to dental care; from frequency of physician visits to ease of access to their mail.

“Being recognized as a deficiencyfree community offers evidence of the staff’s compassion and desire to make Aberdeen Heights a place our residents are honored to call home,” Kneen said.

The achievement by Aberdeen Heights places the retirement community in the top tier of survey performances in Missouri.

Why the arts are key to dementia care

By Anne Basting for Next Avenue

When you receive a serious medical diagnosis, it can feel as though that diagnosis replaces your identity. I am no longer myself — instead, now I am cancer, or heart attack or dementia.

But even when we carry a diagnosis, we also continue to live our lives. We are more than our diseases and care plans.

People can live as long as 20 years with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Family and professional caregivers, as well as community members, need tools to ensure that people with Alzheimer’s can be more than their disease. But how? Conversation can be challenging, in person and by phone.

How can we stay connected and foster what has come to be called the “personhood” of someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s?

The answer is,,, the arts A symbolic and emotional communication system, the arts don’t rely on linear memory and rational language. Rather, the arts engage our intuition and imagination. Their building blocks for expression are movement, gesture, words, patterns, sounds, color, rhythm, texture and smell — to name just a few. As access to rational language falters, a person’s imagination can soar.

ARTS, continued on page 4

Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Aberdeen Heights by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at: PresbyterianManors.org.

James “Jamie” Kneen, executive director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Loretta Cutler, health care lifestyle coordinator, lcutler@pmma.org.

Telephone: 314-909-6010 Address: 505 Couch Ave., Kirkwood, MO 63122 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

2

Community Matters September 2015

MUSIC, continued from page 1

“We have received 10 headphones, 5 gently used iPods, some chargers and are awaiting a $50 gift card. We will ask our woodworking shop to build something for us to keep track of what we have so that we can keep everything organized,” said Loretta.

In spite of its name, the Music & Memory program isn’t limited to residents in memory care. Once enough players are available, any resident will be welcome to plug in and play the music they love best—whether that’s Beethoven, Count Basie or the Beatles.

“Dana, our MDS Coordinator, has put together a playlist form that we are beginning to pass out at care plan meetings to the families. I am explaining the program to the families and asking them to fill out the form with their loved one’s favorite music to the best of their ability, but we do try to get that information from the resident first. We are very excited about this program and are looking forward to watching its success,” said Loretta.

To assist Aberdeen Heights with building up its supply of iPods, headphones and iTunes cards, contact Loretta Cutler at 314-909-6059, ext. 6059.

MARK YOUR

CALENDARS. fall festival

breakfast with santa Saturday, November 28, from 10 – 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, October 3, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. entertainment • Musical Cake walk, kiddie fish pond, • bean bag toss and other games Face painting • Petting • Hot dogs,zoosoda, chips • Clown to make balloons •

Grab the kids, grandkids or neighbors and come on over for some Christmas cheer, food and crafts for the kids. Don’t forget your camera!

christmas party for residents and families Thursday, December 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

This is our time to shine and say THANK YOU to our families and residents!

DONATE YOUR VEHICLE Have an old car taking up space in your driveway?

Donate it to Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Support Our Mission Since its very beginning, Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America residents have beneeted from private philanthropic gifts. A donation of land helped fund the purchase and development of the rst campus in Newton, Kansas, in the early 1950s. Many donors are carrying forward a tradition of giving that began with family members generations ago.

We’ll schedule your free pick-up and you get a tax deduction.

DONATE

We Make Donating Easy!

Call (844) 490-GIVE to donate your car today!

The Glen at Aberdeen Heights

3

ARTS, continued from page 2

Memory vs. imagination You don’t need to be an artist to use the arts for expression. These tools are available to everyone.

Over the last 20 years, I have worked to encourage care partners to communicate with people who have dementia through creativity.

The shift from expecting and correcting memory to opening and connecting through imagination can be profound, especially for family members. After years of distance, the arts can help families rekindle an emotional connection.

That was Charlie Farrell. He has since gone on to create the In one workshop for caregivers, I Carolyn Farrell Foundation to help was demonstrating how they could family caregivers use the arts to use open-ended questions to free communicate with loved ones with up the imagination of people with dementia. I suggested they ask things Alzheimer’s and other dementias. like: “What would you like to name More than a diagnosis the person in this picture?” versus “What’s his name?” Or, “When How can you learn these techniques? would you like this story to take There are a variety of resources. My place?” versus, “What year is it?” own work with improvisation and creative storytelling has free online I noticed that one gentleman in the storytelling tools at timeslips.org. workshop got a worried look on his face, and I asked him if he was The National Center for Creative OK. “Yes, I’m just realizing that I’ve Aging is at work on a series of video been driving my wife crazy for the modules that share poetry, music, last two years — insisting that she movement and visual art techniques. remember things,” he said.

They will be available soon.

Some long-term care communities (though not enough of them) have arts and/or music therapists or partner with local arts organizations to provide programming.

But the arts are more than a program to be added to an otherwise hectic day in the life of long-term care staff or family caregivers. They are a communication system that opens our emotions and invites us to share who we are with each other.

The arts are a way of being in relationship that can ensure that we are more than our diagnoses.

Copyright© 2015 Next Avenue, a division of Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.

Coming up in Community Matters We will be thinking about Thanksgiving in an upcoming issue of Community Matters. Does your family have a special recipe that is made each Thanksgiving dinner, one that it’s not Thanksgiving unless it’s on the table? What about a special Thanksgiving tradition? Share your Thanksgiving memories by contacting Lifestyle Coordinator Loretta Cutler, and your memories, traditions or recipe may be selected for an upcoming issue of Community Matters.

4

Community Matters September 2015

Sign up to receive our newsletter by email.

Message smay2@pmma.org and ask to have the newsletter delivered to your inbox. It’s that easy!