An Italian poet once said, “We do not remember days, we remember moments.”
The Bridges Memory Care Activity Team at Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley is dedicated to forging meaningful moments for their Memory Care residents. Through structured and less structured free time, the team adapts to seniors’ ongoing mental and physical changes, seeking to engage them in activities that resonate with them at the time.
Stapeley Director of Life Enrichment & Activities Amy van Brug has a master’s degree in music therapy. She has always been interested in how music can support behavioral health. In her ten years with Wesley Enhanced Living, she has lived by the principle that, “Music is for everyone, and everyone deserves access to it.”
This philosophy is embraced by Amy’s Bridges activities specialist, Will Gillespie, who works specifically with residents with Alzheimer’s Disease or other disorders affecting memory, learning, and/or communication. Among Will’s many talents, he uses his skill as a harpist to draw residents into singalongs and perhaps stimulate memories and emotions through music.
Will adds that he has also seen people respond similarly to poetry. Stapeley residents mounted a Shakespearean play, and Bridges Memory Care residents were able to participate using specially formatted scripts and cue cards.
“People take a bit to tune in—to each other, to the environment, to themselves. Certain activities really help people do this. What I love about working in Bridges is the pronounced way this can be observed.”
Amy encourages her activity team members to share all their niche interests with residents. And her entire staff is cross trained to spend time with all levels of care throughout the community. So, on any given day with her current crew, residents may be exposed to a curriculum of exercise, crafts, arts, literature, writing, or even neuroscience! For Will’s part, he has enjoyed using his fiber arts expertise to support resident individual and group projects, including several felting, spinning, and weaving collaborations with art therapy student interns. And through his photography skills, he has been able to capture special moments with residents that can be shared with their families.
“Art, music, hobbies—they bring people together,” says Amy. “When we work together in a fun and creative space, we learn to put each other’s differences aside and instead, grow community and inspiration.”
Activities specialists at Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley are a team within a larger team, working with all of the other community departments and residents’ family members to support residents’ needs and their quality of life.
In Activities, says Amy, “We celebrate and highlight our residents for who they are and not their diagnosis. And we measure our success by the great experiences and moments we are able to create for them.”