Q: Hello there,
I have a question for you about memory care facilities.
What do the residents who live there do all day? I just mean that, if all they do is watch TV all day, that is sad. What about playing cards, playing Scrabble, doing puzzles, taking walks outside (not by themselves of course), having a group picnic, doing some exercising, etc. etc.
Just wondering.
A: It’s an important question — assessing the quality of care being provided for vulnerable populations, particularly if the folks receiving the care can’t consistently communicate to family and friends the experiences they’ve had from day to day. And it’s a question that might haunt loved ones who live a distance away from an elderly parent or sibling and can’t regularly drop by for a visit to verify that all is well.
Ask Us Guy sent this question to a couple of local facilities, and Elise Ollrich of Generations Child and Memory Care responded with a ton of information about what happens at her facility on Mankato’s east side.
Ollrich is the activities coordinator at Generations, located along Hoffman Road. The facility is unusual in that it is a child care center licensed for up to 45 infants, toddlers and preschoolers while also offering apartments and round-the-clock supervision for older folks suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other forms of memory loss.
But Ollrich said her role is one that’s found at most assisted living facilities, because meaningful activities are critically important to residents’ well-being and quality of life.
“In a memory care setting, my goal is to meet each person where they’re at physically and cognitively while honoring who they are and where they’ve been all their lives,” she said.
It starts when residents first move to Generations. They and their families fill out a “life story” that attempts to capture the relevant parts of each person’s life from childhood to the present while also documenting their current interests, routines and preferences.
“I use this information to build our activities calendar, ensuring the individuals living at Generations can continue doing the things they love,” Ollrich said. “On a day-to-day basis, we aim to address physical, social, creative and spiritual well-being by incorporating activities that touch on all of these multidimensional aspects of humanity. Residents are never required to participate but are invited and encouraged to.”
As for what those activities look like, Ollrich described many of them in a written summary.
Her and her staff prioritize one-to-one visits with residents, which might include a manicure or hand massage, reminiscing while looking at photographs or doing an activity specific to an individual: “For example, we have a few retired farmers who live at Generations, and we’ve used a farming simulator video game for one-to-one time, allowing our farmers to get ‘behind the wheel’ of these farming vehicles again from the safety of our secured community.”
But much of the schedule also includes group activities of various sizes.
“To encourage physical activity, we plan movement activities such as walking club, seated chair exercise, balloon ball, or even hosting the kiddos for parachute time. For social well-being, we host a daily snack social and intergenerational activities.”
For residents who enjoy social table games, there’s bingo, puzzles and cards. Other activities, sometimes done in conjunction with the day care kids, are aimed at encouraging creativity and include baking and flower-arranging.
“We also have a daily live music activity Monday through Friday, as music is so beneficial for those with dementia because it reactivates areas of the brain tied to memory,” Ollrich said. “Music can be spiritual, too, through piano- and guitar-led hymn sings and church services. We have a weekly devotional activity with a local volunteer pastor.”
The monthly activities calendar usually includes what Ollrich describes as “a couple of extra-special large group activities.” Sometimes that’s a birthday party or a holiday-related gathering with festive decor and seasonal music.
There have also been tea parties with fancy teacups and treats. For July, a “bloom bar” is on tap as part of a midsummer social.
“A local flower farm will bring locally grown blooms to Generations for our residents and staff to arrange into bouquets,” she explained.
Of course, Generations has its unique intergenerational dynamic.
“The ‘grandfriends’ and the kiddos interact through meaningful activities daily, designed to enrich the lives of our residents living with memory loss, while teaching children about diversity, empathy and understanding through these planned interactions,” Ollrich said.
The concept has proven popular enough that the five-year-old facility began an expansion last year. When completed at the end of this month, the expansion will boost the number of residents in the secured memory care unit from 20 to 30 while adding about 10 youngsters to the day care to bring it to its 45-kid licensing capacity.
Contact Ask Us at The Free Press, 418 S. Second St., Mankato, MN 56001. Call Mark Fischenich at 344-6321 or email your question to mfischenich@mankatofreepress.com; put Ask Us in the subject line.