Thanks to memorial funds contributed by supporters, Sweet Memorial Nursing Home (SNH) is implementing some new therapies to help residents with memory issues and dementia. SNH Administrator Jenni Pula recently explained two new therapies supported by memorial funds and underway at the Chinook facility. Several employees just completed training to allow the local nursing home to become a Music and Memory Certified Care Organization. And a new blanket warmer is in use, with plans to add a second one.

Pula explained, "We receive Memorial Fund gifts-often in memory of or honor of a resident. We try to use the memorial funds for products or services that directly benefit or honor our residents. Recent research showed a lot of promise for both music therapy and warm blankets for treating dementia." She added that many SNH residents have some level of dementia.

Music and Memory

"Music has charms to sooth a savage beast..." was coined by a British author in the late 1600's. Fact is most everyone has some favorite song or piece of music that evokes a memory of a special moment or event. According to Jenni Pula, that common sense notion of 'how music calms' has been verified in many research studies with patients who have Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. And out of that has come some music therapies to calm and help dementia sufferers feel like themselves again. (there is an excellent six-minute video on the Music and Memory website at http://www.musicandmemory.org. Scroll down on the opening page and look for 'Beloved Music Can Renew Lives Lost to Dementia.' In that section a video shows the reactions of a non-responsive patient after listening to music from his era.)

Pula explained how Sweet Home got connected with the Music and Memory, a group that "trains care professionals how to set up personalized music playlists, delivered on iPods and other digital devices." Project managers believe favorite musical selections can tap deep memories not lost to dementia and bring participants back to life, enabling them to converse, socialize and stay present. Pula said the fee for training and services from Music and Memory cost $600 for a facility the size of Sweet Home. The funding to participate in the program was provided by the Mountain Pacific Quality Health Foundation and the University of Montana. There are 18 certified facilities in Montana.

Although the program to certify a facility only requires a minimum number of employees to be trained to manage the music playlist program, eleven SNH employees took the training. Pula said she was very gratified with interest in training which was conducted over a three-day period via webinar (seminars using a computer for presentations). The training included how to use iPods as listening devices, how to build playlists using iTunes and other sources for music and ways to identify favorite music of residents either using input from families or playing samples of music for residents to identify the genres and artists they prefer. With the training from Music and Memory Sweet Home also received 10 free iPods and $50 credit from iTunes.

Pula said a letter recently went to families of individual Sweet Home residents asking for input to help create playlists. She added, "A typical playlist is about 200 songs. Research has shown not enough songs can lead to boredom and too many can be stressful over the number of choices." The nursing home already has many CD's donated by families and others and Pula said, "We can use donated music if we have the original CD. That protects from copyright issues."

Asked about the cost to create a playlist, Pula pulled up a website that sells downloadable music. She said, "If we know a resident's favorite artists or particular songs, we can search for those. Or, we can search by years-like golden oldies of the 1940's." Once a playlist is created the staff is trained to edit the list by removing songs that are not listened to and add new songs. Prices for downloadable songs vary from sixty-nine cents each to $1.29 each. Music already in possession of SNH can be loaded to a playlist for no charge. By mid-March Pula is hopeful that several playlists will be completed and in use. Once playlists are created they are loaded into an iPod and the residents use headphones to listen privately to their music.

At the end of March the Sweet Home will officially kick off their Music and Memory campaign. On March 27, there will be a 'museum' display of devices people have used to listen to music over the years. SNH staff say they need about 20 more iPods to be able to offer music to every resident who could benefit from the program. Pula said, "We will accept used iPods that still work. We might use some of the Memorial Fund to buy the additional iPods we need as well as purchase downloadable tunes as needed."

New blanket warmer: like a hug from a loved one

After learning about the music program, Pula showed a relatively new piece of equipment that she said is helpful to virtually all residents and, especially, those with dementia. Citing several studies, she explained that heated and weighted blankets seem to instill a sense of calmness in residents suffering from dementia. A quick review of studies showed that the effect of heat and touch seemed to encourage the body to make chemicals that enhance one's mood.

The new blanket warmer, looking much like a very large microwave, was located near the center of residents' rooms. Pula said, "We wanted it where it was easily accessible by staff to take blankets to any room." A couple of the staff demonstrated how the machine worked, pulling out some blankets and quilts warmed to a pleasant 130 degrees. They noted that many of the quilts and blankets in the warmer were also donated.

Pula said, "The blanket warmer has been so popular with the residents, we want to buy a second one for the bathing area. Older people sometimes require a little extra heat after leaving a bath or shower." The blanket warmers have a control that can vary the temperature of the heated blankets. Memorial Funds were used to buy the warmer, which cost $2700.

Memorial Fund is a way to help at Sweet Home

If you are interested in making a tax-deductible donation to Sweet Home's Memorial Fund, there are several ways to make a gift. Pula said, "Sometimes people want to designate a gift to help a particular program or purchase, like a gift toward a new blanket warmer or to support the music program. Designated gifts are welcomed or a general gift is also fine. We always try to focus on needs of the residents when using the Memorial Fund." You can call Sweet Home at 357-2549 and talk to Jenni Pula about making a designated gift. Or, you can send a check to Sweet Home and note it's a gift to the Memorial Fund.

The "Journal" congratulates the Sweet Home staff on their implementation of these state of the art therapies for the residents and thanks the donor who helped fund these projects.