During Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, we pay special homage to the team members across all of our Villages who help bring joy, comfort and meaning into the lives of those who are living with the ever- changing perceptions that dementia in its many forms can present.
When it comes to our long-term care neighbourhoods, the reality is a majority of residents live with some level of changing brain health and in some, like the Elliott neighbourhood in the Village of Sandalwood Park, the changes can be quite advanced among almost all residents.
The team members who thrive in these neighbourhoods do so because of a seemingly innate understanding of the uniqueness of each person they serve. They recognize that no matter a person’s ability to understand the complexity of their environment as they once did, they can still recognize kindness, comfort, belonging and a sense of security.
To paraphrase Maya Angelou, they may not understand or remember what a person says, but they will understand how a person makes them feel.
“You need to have a big heart to be able to do this kind of work,” says Windy Gibson a PSW who absolutely loves being a part of the lives of residents in the Elliott neighbourhood. She began working as a housekeeper at Sandalwood Park and was able to immediately connect with people in meaningful ways. When the need for PSWs grew dire during the height of the COVID pandemic, she answered the call.
Her natural connection with residents is obvious as soon as you walk into the neighbourhood, for she believes that no matter a person’s ability or whether they can speak or not, there is always a way to reach them in a meaningful way.
“I connect with all the residents,” Windy says. “They all touch my heart in so many different ways. Even those that can’t socialize with you, I know they hear my voice and they respond in a different way, with their facial expressions
“When I give the care to a resident,” she adds, “I talk to them; I guide my way through what I’m doing with them and they understand. When I come in their room I say ‘good morning,” and I bring a smile to their face.”
For Windy, it is about being present in each moment with each resident, and in her approach, the moments of each day she’s in the neighbourhood breeze by.
David McCalla seems to share Windy’s ability to connect with the Elliott residents. As a recreation team member, he spends all his time in the Village there, and he seems to thrive not in offering structured activities at scheduled times, but in his ability to meet residents’ needs individually in the moment.
As a student of recreation and leisure studies at Humber College, he intended to work with children; working in long-term care was never on his radar and he had little to no connection with seniors.
“That was until my placement,” he says, “and I loved it and now I’m here; I love interacting with everyone every day.”
For David, all of his connections begin with conversations with each person, along with the information the team has compiled on each resident’s ME (My Experience) Forms. These snapshots are a synopsis of a resident’s life, outlining a bit of their history and the things that bring them joy and meaning. David says that they are an invaluable foundation upon which connections can be built, and with the knowledge he has about each person he serves, he can adapt his plans at any given time to meet a need in the moment.
“I like to just go with the flow,” he says with a smile. “I see how the mood is going on with everybody, and I can go with that.”
For people living with dementia, moods and feelings can ebb and flow. Those who support them best do so because they understand that truth with no expectation or surprise at the change; they are able to simply meet each person in the present moment.
That is at the core of Living in My Today, the Schlegel Villages philosophy for supporting those who are living with dementia and we see it thrive in neighbourhoods across the organization.
