Logan Acres program taps into music’s benefits
A wide smile crossed Logan Acres Care Center resident Theresa Clark’s face Thursday afternoon at the 2739 County Road 91, Bellefontaine, facility when she placed a pair of headphones over her head and listened to a few tunes from an mp3 player.
Music played a large role in her growing up years. She is a longtime piano player, and also was a singer in her brother Richard Turner’s rhythm and blues band, she said.
A new program offered at the care center — Music & Memory — taps into this special place that music holds for many people.
With the help of a $500 Logan County Electric Cooperative Community Connection Fund Grant received Thursday, each of the residents in the Logan Acres dementia unit will receive an iPod with a personalized playlist of songs and headphones.
Spending a dedicated amount of time each week listening to the iPod with headphones has a number of potential benefits for these individuals, from decreasing depression symptoms to sparking memories from long ago and boosting verbal reminisce, and reducing pain and behavioral issues.
“These musical favorites tap deep memories not lost to dementia and can bring participants back to life, enabling them to feel like themselves again, to converse, socialize and stay present,” according to the non-profit organization Music & Memory’s Web site, http://musicandmemory.org.
ABOVE: Lonni Roberts, Logan Acres Care Center activities assistant, left, shows Logan Acres resident Theresa Clark, 77, how to use an mp3 player Thursday afternoon to kick off the center’s new Music and Memory Program, which is getting a boost from a $500 Logan County Electric Cooperative Community Connection Fund Grant. HOME PAGE SLIDE SHOW PHOTO: Ashley Oakley, Logan County Electric Cooperative community liaison, third from the right, presents a plaque and $500 Logan County Community Connection Fund Grant Thursday to Logan Acres Care Center representatives, from the left, activities staff members Donna Lewis, Kim Eagy, Lonni Roberts, Alex Taylor and Alyssa Clark and Administrator Lorraine Fischio at the 2739 County Road 91, Bellefontaine, facility. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR) |
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