Masonicare Pilots Light Therapy, Expands Staff Training For Memory Care

Nonprofit senior living provider Masonicare is expanding its memory care services to include more nonpharmacological approaches and intergenerational programming.

The Wallingford, Connecticut operator oversees four memory care communities, and in the last year, it has increased training opportunities for staff to better empathize with older adults living with dementia.

Masonicare is expanding its student-in-residence program to build better connections with potential future senior living workers, while growing the amount of intergenerational programming available to the organization’s existing memory care communities.

The company is piloting using 40 Hz gamma flicker light technology that is linked to brainwave activity associated with memory, focus and cognitive function.

In the pilot program, 10 memory care residents received one hour of daily therapy with the light device during meals, reading or watching television. Forty percent of participating residents in the program showed statistically significant improvements in at least one aspect of daily living, from improved mood to better sleep or greater ability to function during the day, according to a white paper from Masonicare.

Lauren Dubuque, who is the executive director of Masonicare at Mystic, where the pilot was run, said the pilot program’s early success showed the promise of using supportive, nonpharmacological therapies to improve the quality of life for memory care residents.

In the rollout of the light therapy pilot, Dubuque said she received positive feedback from staff at the Mystic community, which led to staff identifying other areas in which life enrichment and clinical departments could collaborate to improve the quality of living at Masonicare communities.

“These are small, but real-world improvements that have only encouraged our staff to see this through and build off of it,” Dubuque said.

With the results of the light therapy program still fresh, Masonicare could explore other non-pharmacological interventions for memory care residents in the future, according to Cherie Macri, who is the director of Masonicare’s memory care program, enCompass.

“I have seen firsthand the positive results that have come from something that is discreet and non-invasive. I can foresee that we’ll be able to offer this type of complementary therapy, if not as our standard, at least as an option for people,” Macri said.

The focus on nonpharmacological approaches, mixed with the clinical support and emphasis on safety, has helped transform Masonicare’s memory care program in recent years, Macri said. For example, Masonicare’s memory care program has “flipped the script” from a historical emphasis on risk avoidance to focusing on memory care residents’ retained abilities to empower them in safe settings.

This fits alongside Masonicare’s effort to grow its students-in-residence program with three academic institutions including Quinnipiac University, the University of Hartford and the University of New Hampshire, where students live on campus for an academic year and engage in programming with residents.

Masonicare also revamped its common areas at its memory care communities with more space for families to socialize with their loved ones living in memory care.

To improve memory care staffing, Masonicare rolled out virtual dementia tour training for all staff across its portfolio to help build empathy and better understand the lived experience of someone living with dementia. The organization seeks to complete the rollout by the end of this year.

The organization’s dementia competency training has helped changed how staff work at the company’s communities. For example, staff might listen to music at a lower volume or implement redirection strategies when they see a memory care resident struggling, Macri said.

“Those small moves that our staff notice can be impactful and we can turn that into change,” Macri said.

Masonicare also adapted parallel programming, with different groups and acuity levels being formed to allow for better socialization and pair memory care residents at the same acuity level in their respective group. In addition, Masonicare is expanding programming to go beyond the traditional 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. memory care schedule to pair programming with residents’ behavior patterns and needs during different parts of the day, Macri said.

In the future, Macri said senior living providers must adapt to meet the growing needs of older adults living with cognitive change. Helping to bring programming into memory care in a safe and fulfilling manner will help create more social environments that are representative of daily living outside of the community and not feel entirely clinical.

“We need to implement and work with technology in the future to ensure residents still receive the benefits of socialization and the impact of staying connected with family,” Macri said. “I’ll leave that as a final piece of food for thought, because as senior living providers, it is something we all need to start considering.”

The post Masonicare Pilots Light Therapy, Expands Staff Training for Memory Care appeared first on Senior Housing News.