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Cordale, Memory Care Afternoon Staff Member, gave feedback.
Implementation Date: April 6, 2022
Feedback Received: April 8, 2022
Underlining Goal: As part of our care-team's quest to provide quality of life for all memory care residents, this component of the music program targets residents who are otherwise not able to enjoy live music, whether due to mobility or behavior issues.
Well, it’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go…
When “Blue Suede Shoes” and other iconic 50s songs are playing there is sure to be residents clapping, some maybe dancing, and most singing along, all smiles. With all the music activities that we do in the community, it is undeniable that the residents there love music. It is agreed by staff that the music the residents enjoy the most is live music too. Before I started this service-learning music program implementation, there was already a downstairs option our memory care residents could attend on Wednesday and Friday with the assisted living residents, but with limited staffing, mobility, and behavior challenges, it just does not always work out for residents to go and some just can’t go regardless. The need for more live music on the actual memory care floor presented itself.
Well, since we have added more consistent live music to the schedule on the floor, according to Cordale, one of the memory care afternoon staff members, the response has been most favorable. The floor has been hopping with good fun during late afternoon times that otherwise are susceptible to afternoon dementia sundowning. Residents have been clapping, dancing, and smiling more he said. We also have had residents who don’t normally come out of their rooms out with the others having a good time. The whole experience is like that of a live music event you might go to elsewhere with refreshments served and good dancing.
One particular singer and his wife came and brought a lot of Elvis hits—everyone was up and swaying so much to the familiar tunes that it was hard to know it was a memory care community during that moment. The one suggestion Cordale had was to have more entertainment throughout the week up on the floor. We will do this as much as possible, since we are still trying to iron out the new program budget!
It has been challenging to figure out if staff’s asking for more live entertainment on the floor is 100% staff wanting to improve the residents’ quality of life or is any of it just staffs’ desire to not have to deal with the residents and to have a break? The staff can be seen often sitting at the nurses station eating their lunch, playing on their phone, or watching something on a tablet. Because of the sundowning behavior challenges and falls associated with this, it is certainly hard to know. Often staff does not bring residents down to the music on other floors. They frequently say this is because they are so short staff. I need to confirm with the Director of Nurses her expectations and how short they are during these times. When I have the live entertainment offerings upstairs on the floor, I hope to see staff actively participating and offering to help serve food and drinks, instead of thinking it is a break period.
As I seek to consider what I have learned about Universal Design for Learning principles from our class, specifically Multiple Means of Representation, I realize the importance of an integrated staff approach that seeks to engage the residents where they are in a given moment or day with their level of dementia. Some residents need to be prompted to clap or sing-along. Often these residents will mirror what staff does. Moving into trying to incorporate more creative expression/performance opportunities for residents, Activity 3 of my project, I hope to continue to recruit and inspire staff involvement.
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