Summer 2016
Community Connections Clinton | Columbia | Florence | Foothills | Summerville
Music, Memory and The Mind
M
usic has a special place and influence in most of our lives. Hearing an old song on the radio, memories and emotions from long ago can come flooding back. Certain songs can make a person want to spontaneously sing along. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that researchers and healthcare leaders are finding music to be a profound way to calm, treat and connect with patients with Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related illnesses. Under the leadership of Administrator Karen Nichols, The Foothills Retirement Community staff has also embraced the brain-music connection and has found great success using music therapy with residents suffering from dementia. A common approach at Foothills is to give memorysupport residents an iPod and earbuds so they can listen to music. For someone experiencing agitation or anxiety, the right kind of music can soothe and relax. “We also find that a withdrawn resident who hardly speaks a word becomes more verbal after listening to music that is meaningful to him or her,” says Nichols. In that moment, family and staff are better able to connect with the resident in a way that is otherwise impossible. How does the staff know what music is “right” or “meaningful” to someone with dementia? “It takes a bit of trial and error to find the music that connects with a particular person,” says Nichols. “Often family
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advice can guide us to what kind of music will work best, but sometimes we simply have to try different kinds until we find something that works.” Nichols shared the story of a resident who lives at The Bridge, the new memory support household at Foothills. “One gentleman does not speak at all, and he can be very hard to get up in the morning. One day, Memory Care Coordinator Amy Howard decided to try playing some music for him on her phone using the Pandora app.” Remarkably, she found that this resident loved classical music. Now he is awakened with classical music every morning and is ready to get up and start the day. Nichols says that the Foothills Community is also using music therapy effectively with those not suffering from dementia. In particular, they find that having short-term rehabilitation patients listen to music helps them with pain relief. The result is that the residents often need less pain medication. Nichols started training the Life Enrichment staff in the benefits of music therapy. She started by showing them the documentary Alive Inside. This movie highlights work that has been done to uncover the brain-music connection and demonstrates the therapeutic value of music for those suffering from memory loss. After further training, the staff became Music and See Music on page 6