Residents living with dementia at Mercy Place Shepparton will be bopping along to some of their favourite tunes from yesteryear thanks to a generous donation by the Shepparton Club.
The Shepparton Club purchased 16 MP3 players and headphones for the residential aged care home which will enable the roll out of a new personalised music therapy program.
“My wife works at Mercy Place Shepparton and told me about the Music and Memory program. I thought it sounded like a great idea,” explained Shepparton Club Manager Don Field.
“Purchasing some of the equipment for this program was just one small way the Club could give back to the community, particularly to our elderly residents who have contributed so much.”
The Music and Memory program introduces personal playlists to residents living with dementia to help unlock memories and renew their sense of identity.
Aged Care Lifestyle and Volunteer Manager Karren Gooding said the program has already been rolled out to another Mercy Health home in Melbourne with great success.
“Families have loaded their loved ones’ favourite songs onto the MP3 players, including football themes and songs from their wedding and childhood,” said Karren.
“The idea is for residents and family members to listen to the songs together, with the hope that the songs will tap into deep memories not lost to dementia and stimulate conversation and connections.”
Anyone wanting to donate an MP3 player for the Music and Memory program is encouraged to call Mercy Place Shepparton on (03) 5832 0900.
Mercy Health is a Catholic community not for profit provider of care, founded by the Sisters of Mercy and grounded in a 2000 year history of caring for those in need. The organisation has 22 residential aged care homes throughout Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland.
Download full media release ( PDF, 201.8K )Last reviewed December 27, 2017.
