|
|
April 21, 2006
Retaining one's sense of identity
Memory boxes placed at the entrance to residents' rooms help them
remember their past.
EVA COHEN
The Snider Campus for Jewish Seniors, which includes the Louis
Brier Home and Hospital and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Residence,
has several ways by which it helps seniors settle into their new
home. These include expressing themselves creatively, building confidence
to promote greater independence and finding ways to alleviate fears
and manage stress.
The activities provided at the home allow the residents to pursue
many of these goals. However, at the Weinberg Residence, there is
a unique presence in the hallways.
There are 20 long-term assisted living suites at the Weinberg. Outside
each room, there is a multi-shelved memory box.
Each resident and their family gets to choose items that they feel
best represents the residents as individuals. The boxes are at the
doorway of each room, built into the wall and cased behind glass.
The boxes serve a few vital purposes, said Weinberg leader Vanessa
Trester.
"They are of huge benefit, because they create a way for staff
to identify with the residents," she said. "They tell
the resident's life history."
Trester said the memory boxes also play the important role of reminding
the residents of who they are, because several of them suffer from
dementia. She said that key items at the doorway help the residents
to remember which rooms they are in and visually trigger memories
that can't always be brought up by speech.
Visuals are very important for memory and for therapeutic healing,
said Trester. The memory boxes are one aspect of the visual presence
throughout the campus. Paintings are also hung around the campus
and Hebrew slogans grace the hallways.
On the second floor of the Louis Brier, there is a wall displaying
profiles of the residents as drawn by other residents and there
is a shelf full of dolls in the comfortable lounge area.
Trester noted that the campus supports independence and choice and
provides respect and dignity for the residents.
"This really is a campus of care," she said.
Eva Cohen is a freelance writer living in Ottawa.
^TOP
|
|
