Reminiscing through the holidays
Barbara Droher Kline, Judy Schwartz and Judy Lloyd are three very different women; however they do have one thing in common. Each one of them shares both their time and talents with residents at The Lutheran Home: Belle Plaine.
Barbara, along with her poodles, visits with The Lutheran Home residents a few times a month. Judy S. spends Tuesday afternoons in Special Care Residence doing whatever is needed. Judy L. has no set schedule but visits often helping to maintain decorations and going with on resident fieldtrips.
Each continues to volunteer throughout the holiday season to maintain consistency for the benefit of the residents. With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, seniors, particularly those with dementia or memory loss, may feel more stressed because of the increased activities and changes in routine.
“When visiting around the holidays, it is best to talk about past family traditions and favorite memories,” explained Sharon Blume, Director of Health Technology Services at The Lutheran Home Association and Belle Plaine Dementia Awareness Alliance Vice President.
Memories and reminiscing are powerful tools to use when communicating with seniors. When interacting with residents, Judy S. often reminisces with the residents. One afternoon, she selected the topic of food and was talking with one resident about cooking Italian meatballs.
“Her eyes instantly lit up when we starting talking about the foods and how she made her meatballs,” Judy S. described, “So I asked, ‘What do you put in them?’ and of course, she uses Italian sausage, some eggs, bread crumbs and browns them. She really enjoyed talking about it.”
To share experiences of working with those affected by dementia, the Belle Plaine Dementia Awareness Alliance hosts a Memory Café social gathering monthly. The program allows for both people with memory loss and their caregivers to share in a nonjudgmental environment.
Barbara, accompanied with her poodles Pierre and Nadia, often reminisces with residents about their memories of having dogs or other pets.
“That’s been part of what is really fun, listening to people’s stories,” Barbara explained, “There is a gentleman in memory care and we started talking about horses. At Halloween, I dressed up one of our small horses as a poodle for the residents to see.”
The effect of pets has also been apparent in the Memory Care atKingsway Retirement Living. With the support of Dementia Solutions, a Live Well at Home grant through the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Kingsway purchased two robotic cats and two robotic dogs.
“The residents were actually in awe of the pets. They were so nurturing, I never imagined we would see such a caring response,” said Melisa Mewes, Director of Nursing at Kingsway.
With Christmas only a few weeks away, The Lutheran Home campus is decorated for the holiday with Christmas trees, lights and garland. There is a row of windows in a long hallway that often sat undecorated until Judy L. took over the job. She recently decorated them for the Christmas holiday but also decorates them for the winter season, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, summer, fall and Thanksgiving.
“The residents enjoy it as they often get wheeled past the windows on their way to other activities so knowing that they enjoy them is wonderful,” Judy L. said.
While each woman shares their time with The Lutheran Home differently, they are all important. There is no shortage of volunteers needed at The Lutheran Home.
“I think volunteering is so important, as a Christian, we are put in this world to spread the message and to help people. However you fit into that mold, everyone can do something to help people,” said Judy S.
Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, especially around the holidays. They make a perfect time to make special connection with someone else.
“The holiday season creates special moments to be with loved ones or those who may not have anyone to visit them. It creates a time to reminisce and partake in festive celebrations and traditions, and simply creates a time to connect,” said Betsy Berger, Therapeutic Recreation Director.
Interested in sharing your time and talents with us? Contact us at info@tlha.org.
Tips for visiting those with dementia
Source: Teepa Snow
- Start off by looking friendly and offering your hand in a handshake
- Introduce yourself by name, then pause, if the person still doesn’t seem to ‘know’ you, give them a little more background
- Use shorter phrases and pause between thoughts or ideas, giving the person a chance to respond
- Talk about the old times more than recent information
- Keep memories positive if possible
- Accept ‘general comments’, don’t push for specifics
- Don’t correct errors, go with the flow of the conversation
- Be prepared to hear old stories over and over, use old pictures or props to bring up other old memories… and laugh
- Do something with the person rather than just talking to them
- If the person says something distressing or seems worried about something, realize it may not be true, but they are not lying to you, their brain is lying to them. Check it out with the care partner before acting on it.
The Belle Plaine Dementia Awareness Alliance hosts a Memory Café social gathering at 10 a.m. on the third Tuesday of the month at the Belle Plaine Library. For more information about the Alliance, contact Belle Plaine Dementia Awareness Alliance President Mark Johnson at (952) 873-6492.