The Wealshire and The Ponds Host Chicagoland Memory Bridge Initiative for 2nd Year.

Lincolnshire Alzheimer's Residents and Highland Park Students Partner as "Buddies" to Build Connections; Media Invited to Holiday Gathering on December 21 at 4:00 p.m.

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- As part of the quality Alzheimer's care program, the Wealshire Skilled Nursing Care and The Ponds Premier Assisted Living communities are serving as the flagship hosts for the Chicagoland Memory Bridge Initiative (CMBI) for the second year in a row. "The Wealshire and Ponds have been selected for this project not only because they offer beautiful facilities and had a great outcome with the CMBI last year, but also because their staff is truly dedicated to their residents. Their commitment to caring for the elderly with memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer's and other ailments is demonstrated in their willingness to embrace programs that benefit all age groups with unique approaches," proclaims Mary Cohen, Director of CMBI.

The CMBI was funded by a grant from the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services. It serves to educate Chicago-area public school students about Alzheimer's disease and individually pairs them with seniors living with memory loss in a skilled care setting. Educators and the facilities are selected because of their dedication to the "building of bridges" between the students and the residents. CMBI utilizes a 12-week, 30-hour after school curriculum to foster intergenerational communication and collaboration between students and residents with Alzheimer's disease. This program brings history to life for students with one-to-one relationships developed through letters and visits. At the same time, it gives new quality of life to senior residents, who look forward to correspondence and face-to-face meetings with the students.

"Our residents enjoy sharing their life stories, successes and even setbacks with younger people, who have a magical way of helping them to open up in a non-threatening setting," said Shari Floss, assistant administrator for The Wealshire and The Ponds. "The CMBI initiative is so important to us, and it is a key example of how we continuously strive to achieve innovative programming, excellence in care and meaningful interaction for our residents with the outside community."

Wealshire and Ponds Team Up with Elm Place Middle School Students of Highland Park

Chosen Wealshire and Ponds residents (referred to as "buddies") experiencing the early stages of Alzheimer's disease are partnering with 12 sixth-grade students from Elm Place Middle School of Highland Park, who are enriched with a wonderful learning opportunity and rewarding relationships. The CMBI program is structured so that there is classroom time and four on-site visits at The Wealshire and the Ponds. Eight of the 12 weeks are spent in the classroom teaching the students how to communicate with older adults. Topics include: how to be a good listener; how not to dominate a conversation; and the physiology of Alzheimer's disease.

The program leader provides techniques in working with this aging population, suggests key memory triggers, and discusses how to be more sense-oriented and less factual. Students are taught to stay with their buddy in his or her timeframe, wherever he or she may be. As part of the project, students write letters, create a session project and keep a portfolio to memorialize the relationship. Each session that they meet as a class, they work on one element for the portfolio. At the end of the program, each student gives their buddy the portfolio with letters and photos included.

December 21, 2006 - Student and Senior "Buddies" Meet for Holiday Exchange

On December 21 at 4:00 p.m., the Elm Place Middle School students will be meeting with their buddies for the third time at The Wealshire and The Ponds. They will review their portfolio together and discuss the holidays of long ago. How did their buddy celebrate? Who were the key people in his or her life then? What are the sights and sounds that come to mind? Was there a focus on the smells and tastes of particular dishes? The stories will be bursting with strong and vivid imagery. Throughout the project, it is amazing how much the seniors remember about their student buddies. Many remember their student long after the project is completed, which may be indicative of short-term memory recall.

"Social interaction has shown to be helpful with residents suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and this social connection brings an immediate reaction. It triggers an instinctive love that is different, less guarded and more of an automatic, warm response to the children," Cohen explains.

"The CMBI truly builds bridges. Not only do the older adults spend quality time socializing and reminiscing, but the students gain historical knowledge of years long ago. The fact that they learn to bond and share with someone that is very different from them is an incredible gift. We hope that this opportunity provides the students with the confidence and comfort they need to interact with the elderly and perhaps even spark an interest in the field of gerontology," Cohen concludes.

For More Information

This September, the CMBI earned the 2006 Innovative Program Award from the Illinois Health Care Association. The Association is an advocate organization for long term care facilities throughout Illinois. For additional information on CMBI, please visit www.memorybridge.org or contact Mary Cohen at CMBI 773-290-1520 x 320. For more information about the Memory Bridge Program or other therapy and recreation initiatives at The Wealshire or The Ponds, please visit: www.wealshireponds.com or call 847/883-9000 (The Wealshire) or 847/415-9090 (The Ponds).

About The Ponds and The Wealshire

Owned and operated by a single family with over 80 years devoted to skilled nursing, The Ponds and The Wealshire are built and staffed from the ground up to provide a complete continuum of care from assisted living to long-term care in an unequalled atmosphere of comfort and amenities. Both communities, situated on 20 beautifully manicured acres in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire, are the brainchild of Arnold Goldberg. He is the grandson of a Russian emigrant of the Bolshevik Revolution who pioneered the concept of skilled, long-term care in the Chicago area in the 1920s.

Mr. Goldberg since traveled the world over, studying best practices in assisted living and skilled nursing residences before designing, building and staffing both facilities to offer a complete continuum of care. The Ponds serves as the area's premier assisted living residence, while its sister facility - The Wealshire - provides rehabilitation and Medicare services, all levels of nursing for Alzheimer's, dementia and non-dementia residents, and special care programs for individuals with Parkinson's.