{"id":18814,"date":"2015-06-08T14:03:30","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T21:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=18814"},"modified":"2015-06-08T14:04:58","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T21:04:58","slug":"music-on-ipods-yanks-dementia-patients-from-isolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/music-on-ipods-yanks-dementia-patients-from-isolation\/","title":{"rendered":"Music on iPods yanks dementia patients from isolation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tanja Obear (left) and Gina Pandiani attend meeting of Marin Activity Coordinators. Photo by Woody Weingarten. <\/p><\/p><\/div>\n

Donations of $500 and iPods \u2014 from students at San Domenico School in San Anselmo \u2014 got the ball rolling.<\/p>\n

So residents of WindChime of Marin, a memory-care facility in Kentfield, just over the line from Ross, now can derive pleasure from personalized music playlists on the digital devices.<\/p>\n

As a bonus, the portable players typically open what\u2019s been called \u201ca backdoor\u201d to memory and the mind.<\/p>\n

I call it a coming-out party.<\/p>\n

Stemming from an unpretentious program that can temporarily steer men and women back from the isolation that dementia, Alzheimer\u2019s and other serious ailments sometimes dictate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more specific the playlist,\u201d explained Tanja Obear, WindChime\u2019s activity director, \u201cthe more effective it is. And it\u2019s best if songs from the teenage years to the mid-20\u2019s, their \u2018fun-time,\u2019 are selected.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a wide spectrum of likes, Tanja noted, \u201cranging<\/p>\n

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Digital accessories and iPods are displayed at WindChime. Photo by Woody Weingarten.<\/p><\/div>\n

from music of the \u201830s, \u201840s and \u201850s to others \u2014 younger \u2014 who want to hear Led Zeppelin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gina Pandiani, president of Marin Activity Coordinators (MAC), cleared my attendance at the group\u2019s recent 90-minute meeting at WindChime. There, nine women watched three snippets from a documentary, \u201cAlive Inside,\u201d and discussed how \u201cMusic & Memory,\u201d the program that generated the video, could be implemented throughout the county.<\/p>\n

I was encouraged.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d screened the video about a month before. And wept.<\/p>\n

It was that touching, that inspiring.<\/p>\n

A clip from it, featuring \u201cHenry,\u201d a dementia patient \u201cawakened\u201d by music from his iPod, has gone viral.<\/p>\n

More than 11 million views.<\/p>\n

And counting.<\/p>\n

A thousand senior facilities and nursing homes have instituted the memory program so far. But the hope is for way more \u2014 16,000 in the United States, 65,000 throughout the world.<\/p>\n

WindChime began with only 10 iPods.<\/p>\n

By the time MAC met, all but three of 48 residents had playlists (after a three-month process to fully implement the program).<\/p>\n

The biggest problem the facility encountered, reported Bradlee Ann Foerschner, its executive director, was \u201ckeeping all the iPods charged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not really an obstacle.<\/p>\n

The music itself can occasionally be challenging, though.<\/p>\n

One meeting attendee encountered \u201ca banjo player who wanted only bluegrass music on his iPod\u201d and insisted he \u201ccouldn\u2019t abide Frank Sinatra.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie Van Soest, a WindChime resident who\u2019d previously lived in San Anselmo, differed.<\/p>\n

She adores Sinatra.<\/p>\n

And oldies like \u201cAin\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019,\u201d \u201cNew York New York\u201d and \u201cLady Be Good.\u201d<\/p>\n

She told me she looks forward to hearing them.<\/p>\n

Again and again.<\/p>\n

The main aim of \u201cMusic & Memory\u201d seems achievable.<\/p>\n

That is, to improve the quality of life for Alzheimer\u2019s and dementia patients, for the depressed and infirm, for the lonely, for the elderly in general \u2014 by supplying easy access to music they once loved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program\u2019s not going to reverse the effects of dementia,\u201d said Bradlee, \u201cbut it\u2019s going to evoke memories from the past \u2014 and the joy of those memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cognitive abilities can improve as well as mood.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen both happen, in fact, while watching my wife, Nancy Fox, play piano and provide patter in senior and memory-care facilities in Marin.<\/p>\n

Immobilized residents mouthed words from long-forgotten tunes.<\/p>\n

And rhythmically tapped their toes and fingers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve watched deer-in-headlights eyes light up \u2014 and stay alert for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic & Memory,\u201d I\u2019m also convinced, can cut costs by reducing the need for certain medications. And it can produce residents\u2019 desire to interact with others.<\/p>\n

Bradlee gave an example.<\/p>\n

One WindChime resident is French and \u201cloves to dance to the music. Her entire playlist is French songs. She\u2019s very sweet to watch, and wants everyone else to hear what she hears, to enjoy what she enjoys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some residents prefer keeping to themselves, however.<\/p>\n

Another resident, Bradlee observed, just blissfully and wordlessly \u201cplays invisible piano.\u201d<\/p>\n

Virtually everyone involved with the iPod program listed the same caveat: Despite its genuine promise, personalized music is no magical cure.<\/p>\n

Still, Gina, who\u2019s also the Community Life Services director at Aldersly in San Rafael, suggested the devices offer \u201ca perfect way for volunteers to step up\u201d since residents need only push <\/strong>a single button to start or stop the music.<\/p>\n

Bradlee summed up why she\u2019s sanguine about the program: \u201cI\u2019m always talking quality of life and this program enriches the residents lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

One coordinator\u2019s reaction was succinct: \u201cIt\u2019s such a great idea \u2014 so cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

I concur.<\/p>\n

Contact Woody Weingarten at voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a> or at www.vitalitypress.com\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donations of $500 and iPods \u2014 from students at San Domenico School in San Anselmo \u2014 got the ball rolling. So residents of WindChime of Marin, a memory-care facility in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"