Music therapy is one of the methods that health facilities and providers are researching which may be beneficial to people with disabilities living in long-term intermediate care facilities. The Music & Memory initiative for Dementia patients began in 2015 as a way to improve and build upon the quality of life for those nursing home residents. The music and memory program’s first two phases included a roll-out at 250 nursing homes in Texas. The program is executed by using Apple iPods or other music delivery digital services to play personalized music that taps into deep memories of residents/participants to help unlock and bring them back to a more stable and active lifestyle.
According to a DADS issue of The Forum news for Nursing Facility Administrators:
The first two phases of the roll-out brought 250 nursing homes into the program, said Quality Monitoring Program Director Michelle Dionne-Vahalik. “The study hopes to conclude that, through the use of individualized music playlists, we can increase engagement in meaningful activities, decrease challenging behaviors, improve staff morale and retention, and decrease the use of psychotropic medication and provide an overall improvement of quality of life,” she said. “With the expansion and results of the ensuing study, we hope to see the movement throughout the state, with providers offering this intervention as a normal part of care.”
HHSC has also received approval from CMS to add 200 more facilities. READ MORE HERE: MUSIC & MEMORY