Category: Alzheimer’s/Dementia

Alive Inside – A Story of Music & Memory

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YouTube links below are clips from a forthcoming documentary called “Alive Inside,” about the power of music to restore some neurological function and quality of life to nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s Disease and other conditions.

The film follows Dan Cohen, a social worker who stumbled onto the power of loading iPods with the favorite music of nursing home residents and playing it for them when they were essentially unreachable in any other way.  The effect of the music, as you can tell from the clips, often lasts considerably longer than the music itself.  Oliver Sacks, the famous neurologist and author, narrates portions of the movie and explains how this is possible.  Cohen has since founded a 501(c)3 non-profit called Music & Memory, with a mission to deliver free personalized iPods to nursing home residents across the country.  They accomplish this with donations and donated used iPods.  The film was previewed at the 2012 Pioneer Network Conference in Jacksonville, Florida.  The film is not in theaters or available on DVD at this time, as the filmmakers want to take it on the film festival circuit later this year.  View trailer clips from the film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyZQf0p73QM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5S_hADV30

More clips are available on the Music & Memory website at: http://www.musicandmemory.org/index.html.

posted August 22, 2012

MC5 Hosts: National Learning Collaborative Webinar Series on Using the MDS 3.0 as an Engine for High Quality Individualized Care – Series Two

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MC5 Hosts:  National Learning Collaborative Webinar Series on Using the MDS 3.0 as an Engine for High Quality Individualized Care – Series Two

You are invited to join Missouri Coalition Celebrating Care Continuum Change (MC5) for a free group viewing of the Pioneer Network’s webinar and facilitated discussion:  Series Two: Clinical Applications, Part Four and Five
The following topics will be presented through group webinar and facilitated discussion:

Part Four:  Promoting Mobility, Reducing Falls, and Eliminating Alarms Through Individualized Care

Lead Presenter: Joanne Rader, RN, MN, PMHNP, Pioneer Network co-founder, who led restraint elimination efforts, is an expert in understanding behavior as communication, the importance of proper mobility and seating devices, and is the author of Bathing Without a Battle.

Part Five:  Individualized Dining: New Practice Standards

Featuring: Carmen Bowman, MHS, who facilitated the CMS and Pioneer Network’s Creating Home in the Nursing Home II:  A National Symposium on Culture Change and the Food and Dining Requirements and the subsequent Pioneer Network Food and Dining Clinical Standards Task Force.

July 16, 2012, Monday, 9:00am – 1:30pm

Media Room, Breeze Park, 600 Breeze Park Dr., St. Charles

Please visit the MC5 website:  www.momc5.com.

Know the 10 Signs: Early Detection Matters

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Learn the difference between age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease, Gain an understanding of the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s disease and learn about causes and risk factors, Gain a better understanding of the benefits of healthy aging
June 18, 2012 (1:30 – 4:00 pm)  Schepper’s Distributing, the Clydesdale Room,  Jefferson City, Missouri
June 27, 2012 (1:30 – 4:00 pm)  Alzheimer’s Disease Education Center,  Columbia, Missouri
Please visit:  http://www.alz.org/mid-missouri/ for more information.

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS:  http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_know_the_10_signs.asp

Missouri Alzheimer’s State Plan Task Force

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The Missouri Alzheimer’s State Plan Task Force was commissioned by the 95th General Assembly to address the Alzheimer’s crisis in Missouri.  The 19 member task force developed a plan that focuses on five key goals.  These goals were a result of the input gathered from hundreds of participants at community forums across the state regarding Alzheimer’s disease.  Over the last year the task force has focused on advancing these goals by building on existing resources, leveraging public/private partnerships, focusing of areas of greatest need, and promoting Missouri as a world leader in Alzheimer’s research.  The report is available on-line:

http://health.mo.gov/seniors/nursinghomes/alzheimersscu.php

Interim Report: Missouri Alzheimer’s State Plan Task Force (February 2012)
Interim Report Executive Summary

Latest Alzheimer’s Research Progress Report Released

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2010 Alzheimer’s Disease Progress Report: A Deeper Understanding, the latest annual Alzheimer’s research report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is now available online.  Prepared by the National Institute on Aging, which leads the NIH effort conducting and supporting research on age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease, the report highlights important developments and directions in NIH-funded research, including:

  • risk for developing Alzheimer’s
  • genes that play a role in the disease
  • neuroimaging and biomarkers that detect and track the disease
  • research into new treatments
  • lifestyle factors that may worsen or protect against the disease
  • help for caregivers

http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/2010-alzheimers-disease-progress-report-deeper-understanding

Visit the National Institutes of Health, NIA Newsroom:

http://www.nia.nih.gov/newsroom/2012/02/we-cant-wait-administration-announces-new-steps-fight-alzheimers-disease

 

Guardianship, Financial Powers of Attorney and Advance Care Planning

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Webinar #1: Guardianship, Financial Powers of Attorney and Advance Care Planning: What You Need to Know (Beginner/Refresher) – March 13, 2012.  Three national experts from the ABA Commission on Law and Aging will provide an overview of guardianship, financial powers of attorney, and advance care planning.  For each of these topics, speakers will present the fundamentals, explain the individual’s rights, and discuss the roles and responsibilities of guardians, agents, nursing home or assisted living providers and staff, ombudsmen, and consumer advocates.

Webinar #2: Guardianship, Financial Powers of Attorney and Advance Care Planning: Taking it to the Next Level (Advanced) – April 4, 2012.  What do you do when a nursing home resident with unclear decision-making capacity disagrees with her daughter who is the agent?  What happens when a guardian wants to make a decision that the resident adamantly opposes?  Members of a panel representing the legal community, advocacy, and providers will discuss how to approach and resolve these and other difficult situations.

Join for one or both events in the two-part webinar series at:

https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/8641/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=70450