Tag: Assisted Living

Right to Music > Assisted Living

Bring Music Back into Care: What This New Report Means for You

Over the years that I advocated for nursing homes to help residents reconnect to their favorite music, I often hit a wall of resistance. Any new initiative, even a low cost one like personalized music, was a hard sell if it didn’t produce revenue. Although I was fortunate to have met with passionate, “walk-the-walk” kinds of leaders when it came to improving quality of life with music, too many leaders in nursing homes, assisted living communities, hospitals, and home health care organizations said they didn’t feel they could even ask for or consider a program like this unless it contributed to the bottom line.… Read more

What to Ask about Music Access When Selecting a Care Home for Your Loved One

Research confirms that people living in care settings are more likely to thrive when they regularly listen to and engage with their favorite music. The music we love can shift our moods, make us happier, even prompt us to sing or dance. So, when your loved one needs to transition to assisted living or a nursing home, access to beloved music will be key to their quality of life throughout the days, months, or years in their new home.

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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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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

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