ANDOVER — For some dementia patients, music is a way to feel better and relate back to memories of the past.
One resident at Bridges by EPOCH in Andover, a full memory care service facility, really connected with jazz music, according to Wellness Director Rosemary Ombewa.
“When we played that music for her, she came alive,” Ombewa said. “She started eating; she talked; she just wanted to talk more about it. Helping them to bring back those memories, gives them a beautiful quality of life.”
Dementia is a term for several diseases that affect memory, thinking and the ability to perform daily activities. Often the illness gets worse over time. More than 55 million people have dementia worldwide, and there are nearly 10 million new cases each year, according to the World Health Organization.
Most symptoms of dementia progressively get worse. As the disease progresses, the need for care increases. It is these little moments in a person’s life, which sometimes come from tips from families or forms during intake, that Executive Director Reshma Nair said makes the experience at Bridges more focused on the residents’ quality of life.
“We’re stepping into their world,” Nair said. “We’ll be what you need us to be.”
Ombewa said that while dementia is commonly met with changes to mood, behavior or motivation, talking about memories can often soothe residents.