Maude’s Awards with Marilyn Raichle, Part 3

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following is a podcast from a qualified senior care provider heard on the answers for elders radio show. And Welcome back everyone to answers for elder’s radio. And again I am here with Marilyn Rachel and Marilyn is the executive director of MoD’s awards and we have been talking this hour a lot about Alzheimer’s and innovative ways to reach them and their organization model. Awards is really a pivotal partner into helping our industry be a lot more innovative, and so we’re going to talk a little bit about Maryland this segment, about who’s been the awardees this year and which is very exciting, and talk a little bit about the categories and the ways in which the organization works. So, Marylyn, welcome back. We thank you very much. It’s a pleasure. We’rely really glad you’re here. So tell us a little bit about this award process and and selection and also a little bit about who won this year. Well, we had our first year this year. Had Ad the applications and there are three three categories that we gave awards in, and so we have one category, which is connecting people with dementia to the world and the people around them. And we have an advisory board of five individuals who represent a lot of different perspectives on Alzheimer’s, and so they helped us score these and then we got together at the end and said, okay, these are the ones that we think should win this year. And so in the first category of connecting, the call making connections and how do we connect people to the world and the people around them? And there are three organizations in the Seattle but actually won this and the first one is momentia, and I love them. They’ve been under the amazing tips. Yeah, and it’s not an organization as much as a movement and it is empowering people to remain connected and active and it’s sort of onestop shop for people who are living with memory loss and their families. How can they act as engaging, inclusive and low in no cost or low cost community activities and a lot of different organizations and so on their website, momentia to learn, lunch of Seattle Dot Org, you can actually find an incredible number of activities that are going on and so and it’s also it’s also growing. It’s growing across the state and it also is now growing into Canada. Yeah, didn’t. I think it’s Alzheimer casses. Well, they didn’t start them, but they they they have have started them here. They’re making so they didn’t start here, but they’re they’re involved with a lot of organizations that had begun them here, and so they want to make sure that everybody knows. There are dams classes, they’re walking groups, there are horticultural groups. I mean there’s so much here. It’s act. Somebody calls it a they inswered my my mother lives in port angels what is available there and and it was very little, whereas moment ree specials. So yeah, it’s so but it’s grown. So there was momentum, which is this wonderful organization. And then the one of the I think that so so critical about the connection piece too, is the fact that, you know, isolation is the worst thing for a senior that has dementia. It will actually escalate the symptoms. So the more social interaction and the more connection that you can provide for your loved one that may have dementor or Alzheimer’s, the better. But and it’s can be a struggle for families, because I know for my mom she tended to want to retreat because she didn’t feel like she could, you know, interact it with it too much of a talente for her, and so she would just kind of, you know, Sulk in the background. So understanding a little bit that there’s different ways in which they could connect, my mom probably would have loved some of the activities that moment to provide. So that is amazing. And so then there is the Seattle Parks Department, which was the first parks department in the country to start dementia friendly recre the age, and so they have all activities, all free for people to do, walking groups and fitness classes, arts in the parks, watercolor. They’re just untrumenius number of programs to that and there are again a model for the cut nation and another model for the nation was Edmonds Center for the arts, which started the dementia inclusive series, which is creating all of art programs that people with memory loss could enjoy, from music and theater, they had workshops, special events, again keeping people connected and becoming a model for the rest of the country. It was a whole interesting group of individuals. So Nicole Child is a spiritual care provider and she started using virtual reality and creating bringing compelling were worlds of underwater seascapes and people was put on the headsets and these underwater coral habitat and it brought them so much joy and after remaing disgusted it. So it gave them the ability to actually have not only to have joyed but also a means of discussing it with their their group afterwards. So it helps enough. Yeah, really interesting. And then this is a really interesting cultivating long term physical health, trying to whose Vietnamese and her mother, Vietnamese, had Alzheimer’s and was unable to really benefit from the treatment that was giving to her because it’s very western Orient and so she actually developed a culturally based care approach for her mother, blended Western practices with Vietnamese culture, and Ashley has created, you know, resources for people who are in similar situations. And then you have supporting care partners, which is hugely important, and I talked about Alan Trier with driving with dimension, which is sort of a road map if you’re just beginning to be a valor partners. And then Judith Levy, who’s an occupational therapist and she wrote a book called activities to do with your parents, who has Alzheimer’s and dimension, and she created all sorts of activities and ways of tracking their affectiveness that can be used by your partners, family members and also care partners in institutional settings to see what’s working and what didn’t work and to track that. and Dr Lama, see by it, was a clinical neural psychologist at West Valley medical created the champ program which is, when you’re going to have any kind of care conference, you’re bringing in all of the different providers, family members and people be who are yelling with their psychological care and physical care and bringing them all together to take a holistic approach. And so those were the eight people who won this year, but then there’s so many it was so difficult to decide. The next year it’s going to be even more difficult, but I did. The one thing that I did want to mention that that one of the things I learned with mom was that when you’re going to leave someone in any kind of setting, make sure they’re with someone, don’t leave them in isolation. Right, because sometimes I would walk mom, she would walk into the door and I always made sure she had someone with her, right that she wasn’t along which just easier. And you know, all of these things you’re talking about are are things that families today may not even have a slight bit of idea about. And the grammer certainly he says it’s like in all of these innovations that you’re talking about is in your booklet, is it not? It’s what it’s in your booklet on your website. Oh yes, everything that is, all those eight which go into great detail, and then there are information on sixty eight other innovations. But that the incompassing entire country. And how does the selection process happen? Like you start it like the beginning of the year, and how long does it go for? And tell us a little bit about kind of the framework of this program right. So we start in early March. Actually we start before that, alerting people the fact that the applications will open, and it’s act one of the important things to do when the go to the website, watch the words Org. It’s a sign up for our email list so that you can be notified as to when the applications will open and also when they book, what will be available. But so we start in early March and we had the people out about two months we actually make a little bit longer this year because of covid. So it’s usually from early March until May to fill up these applications. They’re all online and and our advisory board, or Noble Advisory Board, then takes on the the process of reading through all of them and rating them based on certain evaluation criteria. Does wot? Yeah, I mean does it? Does it need? How does it meet a pressing need? What is the impact? Is it sustainable? What are the abilities for replication? And and also it’s what’s really important this year as we go forward, is does it address communities of that in rural areas, people of Color, low income people? And also are you addressing, and this is not necessary but we’re interested in, are you addressing, and how, late stage Alzheimer’s, because there are lots and lot tigrams for at an early stage but not as many for late stage right and so all of these are considered and then we all get together and then in August we make decisions. From September we send out the information, the notify the winners and then we start on the book and then we start again. You know, this is an amazing process, but it’s certainly an important one and I can I can totally see, you know how the how important this work is, because every year you’re discovering new things and I know that. You know, with the we are so fortunate in the Greater Seattle area to have some amazing pivotal, you know, leaders in Alzheimer’s care and I know most of them and I am so blown away by their devotion and their dedication to serving those that are inflicted with the disease. And certainly, you know, we’re seeing breakthroughs and I do believe, like you know, just and doing so much work with the Alzheimer’s Association and different things like that, that there will be a time where we will be able to cure this disease it. You know, we’re making progress every day and that’s what we have to hold on to hope for and in the main clime we’ve focus on care as we wait for the king. Yes, yes, so again Maryland. How do people get this amazing booklet and handbook, I guess we call it, and and how do we reach how can they get that? So you go to www moud’s awards doorg and you can get a downloadable book and also you can sign up for our elist so that you can keep getting information about the in the awardees, the appatipsons when it starts, and we also have a printed book that you can also ask for. And everything’s good. Well, we’re excited to have you here and in our next segment, Maryland and I are going to talk a little bit about mods awards promised to the community. Where are they going once the plans future, in the future, and really how can they benefit you and your family? Coming up next answers for elders radio show with Susan Newman. Hopes you found this podcast useful in your journey of navigating senior care. Check out more podcast like this to help you find qualified senior care experts and areas of financial, legal, health and wellness and living options. 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