Author: Dan Cohen

Right to Music > Articles by: Dan Cohen

For Alexane Roy, Creativity is Key to Compassionate Caregiving

Alexane Roy, a French musician, educator, and elder care professional, has learned from the ground up the challenges and joys of improving life for those struggling with cognitive decline. Newly translated from French, her successful book, Living…Loving in Alzheimer’s Land, is an approachable, thoughtful, robust guide for anyone caring for a person with dementia. An accompanying activity workbook, EnLIVEn In Alzheimer’s Land: Recreation and Communication Guide Through Neurocognitive Disorders, presents helpful exercises to put concepts into practice.

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Music as Medicine

I enjoyed this conversation with Kristen Howe on her Absolute Trust Talk video podcast, January 24, 2022, about integrating music-based interventions into healthcare, especially long-term care, and for all persons with dementia. We all know that music can affect our mood. An upbeat tune can cheer us up or a sad song can feel comforting when we are sad. What we also are now understanding is that music can affect our experiences in many other ways.

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We’re All Aging. We All Need to Care About Improving Nursing Homes.

A speech therapist and passionate advocate for residents of care communities, Phyllis Ayman is the author of three books: Nursing Homes to Rehabilitation Centers: What Every Person Needs to Know; Overdue: Quality Care for Our Elders; and Dignity and Respect: Are Our Aging Parents Getting What They Deserve? We spoke recently about how families can better prepare for the transition to assisted living or nursing homes—and what it will take to ensure that their loved ones have quality of life, once there.

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Man on Mission to Make Music Accessible for Dementia Patients

This article by Hawkin Miller originally appeared in Alzheimer’s News Today on August 19, 2021.

According to Dan Cohen, founder of the organization Right to Music, about 25,000 academic papers have been published over the past 40 years showing a link between music and well-being.
With a body of research that points to the health benefits of listening to music, especially for people with dementia in nursing homes, Cohen is hoping to improve access to music by educating healthcare professionals on how to use it for therapeutic purposes and the public on the impact it has on patients with any kind of cognitive impairment.

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Hear this: Music can have a powerful effect on homebound seniors

This article by Caroline Szachnowski was originally published on McKnight’s Senior Living, July 19, 2021.

An older woman with dementia may not remember the day of the week or what she last ate, but when given a headset, the dementia fog fades. She is transported into another world: one she remembers well. Memories of dancing with friends, singing along in the car and humming classic rock fill her mind.… Read more

Why Paul Falkowski Trains “Super Volunteers” to Foster Personal Relationships in Nursing Homes

A passionate advocate for expanding the role of volunteers in long-term care settings, Dr. Paul Falkowski is the founder of VolunCheerLeader LLC, a non-profit that trains volunteers to nurture personal relationships with people living in nursing homes. His organization also researches the efficacy of volunteers to impact quality of care and life. Initially trained as a musician, he became interested in gerontology by happenstance, when he visited a nursing home to play some music.… Read more

How to Make Nursing Homes More Like Home: Lessons from the Pandemic

It’s been a hard year for all of us in Covid Time. But it’s been an especially hard year for people living in nursing homes. Not only was COVID-19 particularly deadly for nursing home residents, but also the virus provoked the imposition of severe social restrictions to protect residents’ physical health—all too often, at the expense of their emotional and mental well-being.… Read more

The Powerful Benefits of Music on Memory Loss

In this 2-11-21 interview with Dr. Nathaniel Chin of the Dementia Matters podcast, I share how I came to advocate for giving people with memory loss access to their favorite music. We discuss not only my experience bringing personal music to individuals living in care settings, but also the reasons why this is such a powerful way to alleviate isolation, depression, and anxiety—and how to help your loved one gain access to beloved music.… Read more

As COVID-19 Surges Worldwide, Personal Music Helps People with Dementia in Poland

Even in the best of times, when caring for a loved one whose cognition is declining, whether due to Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, families all struggle mightily. COVID-19 has only intensified that struggle—both to care for a loved one and to cope as a caregiver.

This past summer, as the pandemic spread worldwide, I had the privilege to teach caregivers and clinicians associated with the Lubuskie Alzheimer’s Association in Poland about how to leverage personal music to strengthen their ability to provide quality care.

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Let’s Get Serious About the Pandemic’s LTC Mental Health Price Tag

After six months of being restricted to her room in assisted living, my mom said this: “It’s a deadly life. Nothing to look forward to except the same. I don’t see anybody.”

Her feelings are shared by many who live in elder care settings. The COVID-19 pandemic has radically constricted the worlds of elders who already find themselves confined by physical and cognitive conditions.

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