Kitimat’s Mountainview Lodge (MVL) is home to 36 residents living with dementia and compromised mobility. Because 97% of the residents are living with dementia, the staff are trained in DementiAbility, a program that teaches strategies for gentle persuasive approaches and helps them connect with residents on a personal level.
“The course really helps staff understand where the residents are at,” says Cesar, MVL’s Operational Supervisor.
As stated on its website, the DementiAbility program aims to educate professionals and care providers in understanding the connections between a person’s life story, their environment, and their behaviour, with the end goal of highlighting the abilities – and the potential – of each person living with dementia. Below are some of the principles of DementiAbility:
- The facility looks and feels like a home
- Memory supports are provided
- Independence is maximized
- Activities are matched with abilities
- Residents are engaged in life, with lots of things to do
MVL is a divided into two wings known as the East and the West “neighbourhoods.” According to Cesar Vallejo, Operational Supervisor, “Mountainview Lodge is not a facility, it’s a neighbourhood – we even have a bus stop!”
Sometimes residents express a wish to leave MVL and return home; their confusion about their surroundings can be challenging. To address this, MVL has created an innovative solution based on DementiAbility principles: an indoor “bus stop” that features signage and a local bus schedule. If a resident’s waiting, staff members reassure them that the bus will come soon. They’ll also take a moment to assess the resident and offer them coffee or a newspaper while the resident waits comfortably. The bus stop serves as a delightful distraction and has become quite popular with some of the residents.
As Cesar says, “We connect with our residents, not correct our residents.”
Adding to the homelike atmosphere at MVL, door wraps (large stickers) adorn each interior door, transforming the facility into a collection of homes and adding to the cozy “neighbourhood” vibe. As well, some of the facility’s walls feature fruit trees with magnetic apples or pears. Residents can “pick” these fruits or put them back on the trees – another activity that can help residents who may be exit-seeking or disoriented.
The music program is a great example of DementiAbility’s approach to creating a positive home environment. With support from the MVL’s Family Council and funding from a Healthcare Excellence Grant, dementia-friendly music players were purchased for every resident.
These resemble simple radios: the resident just lifts the lid, and music begins to play. Personalized playlists, tailored to individual preferences or the decade residents were born in, enhance the experience. Throughout the day, music fills each wing’s common room, and both residents and staff often join in singing. The transformative power of music has brought joy to everyone involved.
The MVL Activation Program is another way the facility keeps life interesting and engaging for residents. MVL residents can participate seven days a week, while community clients can attend four days a week. The program team organizes stimulating games, one-on-one time, crafts, and rehabilitation workers visit twice a week to lead exercise sessions.
Pearl MacKeigan, Recreation Coordinator at MVL, says, “The activation program is designed to encourage and support independent living through stimulation of physical, social, recreational, and intellectual abilities in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.”
MVL’s Freedom Wheeler bus provides transportation to the activation program and also takes residents out for lunch, country drives, shopping, and outings. Both residents and community clients enjoy the program.
DementiAbility recognizes that each person in care is a unique individual with their own history, culture, strengths, needs, preferences, and abilities. The staff at MVL excel at demonstrating their commitment by providing meaningful opportunities for those they care for to be celebrated for who they are – kudos to everyone involved!
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