Incorporating Montessori Principles into All Areas: Personal Care (Bathing)

While assisting with personal care, care partners can implement the Montessori philosophy by using task breakdown and following these six steps: To help care partners understand how this process works, here are some tips that provide examples with each step when helping someone bathe. Know the person Prepare…
READ MORE

Leading Change in Memory Care: Commitment to Ongoing Education

I like to point out to people working in senior living that change will not only benefit their residents but also their bottom line. I work with families who are beginning their search for a life-affirming environment for a loved one. On a recent call with a man who had…
READ MORE

Behind Locked Doors: Segregation in Memory Care

Memory care is the fastest-growing area of senior living. It is now standard for assisted living communities and nursing homes to designate an area for a secure unit, usually with a coded keypad on the door. This is where the residents living with dementia will live, segregated from the rest…
READ MORE

Montessori and Meaningful Engagement: Reclaiming Previous Roles

An elder or person with dementia still has the same needs as everyone else. The person wants to socialize, express desires, participate in hobbies, interact with family, be included in activities, teach and learn, and be asked for advice. The person has the same desires to contribute to the household…
READ MORE

Intergenerational Programming: Getting Started

Montessori in Elder Care People of older generations may have memories of standing at their grandmother’s side in the kitchen and baking bread or helping their grandfather plant the vegetable garden in the spring. Many of us have wonderful memories of growing up in an extended family. Today, however, young…
READ MORE

5 Inspiring Stories of Meaningful Person-Centered Memory Care

Small Ways Care Partners Have Improved Quality of Life and Made a Difference This post was excerpted from Getting Dementia Care Right: What’s Not Working and How It Can Change by Anne Ellett, M.S.N., NP. Copyright © 2023 by Health Professions Press. I have had so many meaningful experiences over…
READ MORE