Bates College students have started a music program for residents of The Cedars over the three-month spring semester. The students will develop and implement enriching and engaging musical programs each week that inspire our residents to explore their musical artistic capabilities and form social connectedness within their communities. Students will share their passion for music while providing residents the opportunity to actively participate, make choices, and express their musical artistic capabilities through educational classes, presentations, creative composition, and interactive performances. The first goal of this program is to provide student musicians the opportunity to bring their musical artistry to older adults, practice their music in a unique real-world setting and cultivate reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships with older adults. The second goal is to provide older adults an intergenerational experience by providing opportunities for older adults to share their artistic capabilities, wisdom, creative insight and life experiences. Each program...
Music & Memory started with the understanding that music is deeply rooted in our conscious and unconscious brains. It becomes even more important if the functioning of the brain is deteriorating, as occurs in dementia and other types of cognitive and physical loss. Music can awaken the brain and with it, the memories that are associated with familiar songs. The Music & Memory program helps people who suffer from a wide range of cognitive and physical challenges to find renewed meaning and connection in their lives through the gift of personalized music. The approach is simple and effective: Music playlists – containing the beloved songs from a person’s formative years – tap deep memories long attached to the brain and can bring listeners back to life, enabling them to feel like themselves again, to converse, socialize, and stay present. Music & Memory has been a part of The Cedars...
Under the auspices of Spiritual Care Services of Maine, Sally Thomas has been providing chaplain services at The Cedars since June of 2023. She visits each of four Cedars neighborhoods once a month, offering both one on one pastoral care and group conversation. In each neighborhood she works with the Lifestyles Managers to help her understand what might be interesting or useful and then makes plans for conversation for each setting. Like many chaplains she knows, much of her training was gotten in a medical setting–in her case, during the many years she worked as an RN in oncology. Her monthly visits to the Atrium follow a pattern: first she checks with participants giving each a chance to share what’s on their mind; then she presents a story, usually with material props of some kind, to provide a basis for spiritual conversation. (At a recent meeting, in telling an...
The Cedars is excited to announce a new partnership with Tucker’s Taphouse, a small micro-producer of maple syrup with 115 taps located around the southern part of the state, but boiling in Norway, Maine. Together we will explore the art of maple syrup producing while tapping the trees on The Cedars campus! Tucker’s Taphouse will be presenting at The Atrium and Hoffman Center on March 8th to hold an interactive lecture on all things MAPLE for The Cedars residents. From tap to collection to boiling and finally finished syrup. Our residents will have special opportunities all month to see the demonstration of tapping of the trees on the grounds of The Cedars and even help participate in the tapping process! Tucker’s Taphouse: Crafted in Maine, Sustainably Harvested, 100% All-Natural Maple Syrup....
Opening Minds Through Art (OMA) Building Bridges Across Age and Cognitive Barriers through Art The Cedars has completed its ninth year of collaboration with Opening Minds Through Art. Opening Minds Through Art (OMA) is an award-winning, evidence-based, intergenerational art making program for people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. It is designed to help build a society that values all people without regard to age or cognitive status. This art program promotes social engagement which provides creative self-expression opportunities. OMA also provides staff with opportunities to build close relationships with people with dementia. The Cedars has several OMA trained facilitators on staff to help support our residents. For more information about the OMA program...
Strategies to Help Your Parents Feel at Home in a Retirement Community Moving your parent(s) into a retirement community can be a very difficult process. We’ve met with hundreds of families and have put together some of the best tips we’ve seen for children to make the transition easier. Your family worked together to help your aging parents make a big decision: moving into a retirement community, like assisted living or long- term skilled nursing care. Their lives are about to become safer, simpler, and more rewarding, and the transition to a retirement community does not need to be stressful. Our quick tips guide can get you started on moving elders with ease. Yes, moving a parent to a retirement community is a big change—a change for the better. These benefits include more opportunities to socialize, make new friends and engage in meaningful activities, with caring supportive staff...
The last thing you want to worry about when adjusting to retirement living is money. Here, we will guide you to retirement planning resources and certified senior advisors to make your golden years stress free. Planning for retirement means making sure you have the resources you need to secure the care and comfort you want. Depending on your expected MaineCare benefit, financing assisted living may take advanced planning. A certified senior advisor can help you forecast your assisted living costs and find financial freedom in retirement. Understanding long term care expenses and assisted living costs in Maine can be complicated and confusing. The price of services varies greatly across the state and MaineCare Services covers very specific levels of care and services. Whether you anticipate aging in place and accessing home care or moving into assisted living or memory care assisted living at some point in the future, life...
Trying to decide between assisted living and memory care for someone you love? We’ve put together some resources to help you make the best decision for your aging parents. The signs that an older adult is struggling to live independently at home can be subtle or they can be sudden and striking. Many seniors do not want to be a burden on their families and may try to hide that it is getting harder and harder for them to keep up with home maintenance, housekeeping, errands, or personal hygiene. Steep declines in health or repeated falls can signal a problem. Social isolation, depression, financial difficulties, forgetfulness, emotional outbursts, and poor personal hygiene, nutrition, or home maintenance are common signs, too. There are many reasons older adults may struggle to age in place, ranging from fading eyesight and stiffening joints to the onset of dementia. Understanding why your loved...
At The Cedars, we learned early on that changes in the way healthcare is delivered during this pandemic needed to be immediately adopted to protect our staff and those we care for. Having closed our community to non-essential healthcare providers and limiting physician appointments to those deemed a medical necessity, The Cedars needed to find ways to continue to provide ongoing medical care and connection to outside care providers. In our efforts to reinvent our healthcare services, telehealth emerged as one of the major tools to deliver clinical services via telecommunications technology. Through our Telehealth Program, staff is able to easily coordinate medical care for our patients and residents with primary care and specialty physicians, clinics and services. Additionally, telehealth has been utilized for interdisciplinary team meetings. This program has assisted in maintaining continuity of healthcare to our patients and residents, avoiding additional negative consequences from delayed preventive, chronic...
Moving elderly parents to an assisted living facility can be a scary step for everyone involved. Our five-step checklist is easy to follow, eases the transition to an assisted living community, and will put your whole family at ease. The steps for transitioning someone into a nursing home or assisted living facility are not as difficult as they seem. In fact, the hardest part is simply getting started. No one wants to share with aging parents that they no longer seem to be thriving in their home and many adult children struggle to express their concerns about health and safety with their loved ones. After all, our aging parents have always taken care of us. When we suggest a transition to assisted living, we start taking care of them. At The Cedars, we offer a full range of award-winning living options for elderly parents. We see every day how...
Bates College students have started a music program for residents of The Cedars over the three-month spring semester. The students will develop and implement enriching and engaging musical programs each week that inspire our residents to explore their musical artistic capabilities and form social connectedness within their communities. Students will share their passion for music while providing residents the opportunity to actively participate, make choices, and express their musical artistic capabilities through educational classes, presentations, creative composition, and interactive performances. The first goal of this program is to provide student musicians the opportunity to bring their musical artistry to older adults, practice their music in a unique real-world setting and cultivate reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships with older adults. The second goal is to provide older adults an intergenerational experience by providing opportunities for older adults to share their artistic capabilities, wisdom, creative insight and life experiences. Each program...
Music & Memory started with the understanding that music is deeply rooted in our conscious and unconscious brains. It becomes even more important if the functioning of the brain is deteriorating, as occurs in dementia and other types of cognitive and physical loss. Music can awaken the brain and with it, the memories that are associated with familiar songs. The Music & Memory program helps people who suffer from a wide range of cognitive and physical challenges to find renewed meaning and connection in their lives through the gift of personalized music. The approach is simple and effective: Music playlists – containing the beloved songs from a person’s formative years – tap deep memories long attached to the brain and can bring listeners back to life, enabling them to feel like themselves again, to converse, socialize, and stay present. Music & Memory has been a part of The Cedars...
Under the auspices of Spiritual Care Services of Maine, Sally Thomas has been providing chaplain services at The Cedars since June of 2023. She visits each of four Cedars neighborhoods once a month, offering both one on one pastoral care and group conversation. In each neighborhood she works with the Lifestyles Managers to help her understand what might be interesting or useful and then makes plans for conversation for each setting. Like many chaplains she knows, much of her training was gotten in a medical setting–in her case, during the many years she worked as an RN in oncology. Her monthly visits to the Atrium follow a pattern: first she checks with participants giving each a chance to share what’s on their mind; then she presents a story, usually with material props of some kind, to provide a basis for spiritual conversation. (At a recent meeting, in telling an...
Strategies to Help Your Parents Feel at Home in a Retirement Community Moving your parent(s) into a retirement community can be a very difficult process. We’ve met with hundreds of families and have put together some of the best tips we’ve seen for children to make the transition easier. Your family worked together to help your aging parents make a big decision: moving into a retirement community, like assisted living or long- term skilled nursing care. Their lives are about to become safer, simpler, and more rewarding, and the transition to a retirement community does not need to be stressful. Our quick tips guide can get you started on moving elders with ease. Yes, moving a parent to a retirement community is a big change—a change for the better. These benefits include more opportunities to socialize, make new friends and engage in meaningful activities, with caring supportive staff...
The last thing you want to worry about when adjusting to retirement living is money. Here, we will guide you to retirement planning resources and certified senior advisors to make your golden years stress free. Planning for retirement means making sure you have the resources you need to secure the care and comfort you want. Depending on your expected MaineCare benefit, financing assisted living may take advanced planning. A certified senior advisor can help you forecast your assisted living costs and find financial freedom in retirement. Understanding long term care expenses and assisted living costs in Maine can be complicated and confusing. The price of services varies greatly across the state and MaineCare Services covers very specific levels of care and services. Whether you anticipate aging in place and accessing home care or moving into assisted living or memory care assisted living at some point in the future, life...
Trying to decide between assisted living and memory care for someone you love? We’ve put together some resources to help you make the best decision for your aging parents. The signs that an older adult is struggling to live independently at home can be subtle or they can be sudden and striking. Many seniors do not want to be a burden on their families and may try to hide that it is getting harder and harder for them to keep up with home maintenance, housekeeping, errands, or personal hygiene. Steep declines in health or repeated falls can signal a problem. Social isolation, depression, financial difficulties, forgetfulness, emotional outbursts, and poor personal hygiene, nutrition, or home maintenance are common signs, too. There are many reasons older adults may struggle to age in place, ranging from fading eyesight and stiffening joints to the onset of dementia. Understanding why your loved...
At The Cedars, we learned early on that changes in the way healthcare is delivered during this pandemic needed to be immediately adopted to protect our staff and those we care for. Having closed our community to non-essential healthcare providers and limiting physician appointments to those deemed a medical necessity, The Cedars needed to find ways to continue to provide ongoing medical care and connection to outside care providers. In our efforts to reinvent our healthcare services, telehealth emerged as one of the major tools to deliver clinical services via telecommunications technology. Through our Telehealth Program, staff is able to easily coordinate medical care for our patients and residents with primary care and specialty physicians, clinics and services. Additionally, telehealth has been utilized for interdisciplinary team meetings. This program has assisted in maintaining continuity of healthcare to our patients and residents, avoiding additional negative consequences from delayed preventive, chronic...
Moving elderly parents to an assisted living facility can be a scary step for everyone involved. Our five-step checklist is easy to follow, eases the transition to an assisted living community, and will put your whole family at ease. The steps for transitioning someone into a nursing home or assisted living facility are not as difficult as they seem. In fact, the hardest part is simply getting started. No one wants to share with aging parents that they no longer seem to be thriving in their home and many adult children struggle to express their concerns about health and safety with their loved ones. After all, our aging parents have always taken care of us. When we suggest a transition to assisted living, we start taking care of them. At The Cedars, we offer a full range of award-winning living options for elderly parents. We see every day how...