and playing or moving to music can bring in senior living communities. ... at Red Sunset Park @ 12 noon. 3/16 St. Patric
Gresham Farmington Square Newsletter Farmington Square Assisted & Memory Care Newsletter
Our mission is to create and sustain comfortable, caring environments for those who depend on us.
Contact Us At:
Administrative Staff:
503-665-1994
Betty Aberg
Ann Montgomery
Executive Director
Dietary Director
Eileen O’Connor
Tomas Mendez
Community Relations Director
Maintenance Director
Jennale Martin/Shayleen Weer
Ann’drea Vaughn
1655 NE 18th St. Gresham, OR 97030
P2 Art & Art Therapy Benefits P3 Dancing your way to a healthier brain! P4 Activities Calendar & Birthdays
P6 Potato Chip Day & March Events P7 Memories & Middle Names Day P8 Mission & Team
Activities Director
Resident Care Coordinator
March 2018 Edition
Dianne Hesser Business Office Manager 8
Benefits of Artistic Expression & Art Therapy for Seniors The majority of seniors can benefit greatly from engaging in different art forms, and some may improve their quality of life through doing art therapy. Taking part in artistic activities and engaging in therapeutic processes with art are both valuable, but in different ways.
Memories in the Making!
experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.” (AATA) In Memory Care, art therapy can have transformative effects. Art therapists aim to improve life for memory care individuals by presenting creative opportunities for them to express feelings and experiences, and strengthen connections to others in the moment. A senior who can no longer write or use language cohesively may be able to paint in many colors or reveal a part of their past in an image. Due to such expressions, family and friends often feel strengthened connections.
According to Gene Cohen, MD, PhD, as we age, participation in the arts positively affects our health. Cohen concluded this from his own 2006 study in which he found seniors active in arts had better physical health, fewer visits to the doctor, required less medication, and fell less frequently than those in the study not involved in arts (Today’s Geriatric Medicine).
Art therapy isn’t about being the best artist in the room. It’s about the connections between creative choices made and one’s inner life (Psychology Today).
Such findings shed light upon the value that painting, dancing, drawing, knitting, sculpting, drama, photography, poetry, creative writing, and playing or moving to music can bring in senior living communities.
For more on this topic, head to the Radiant Senior Living blog! Positive Effects of Art on Seniors from Barbara Bagan, PhD, ATR-BC, in Geriatric Monthly's “Aging: What’s Art Got to Do With It." Aids in relaxation, anxiety, and depression Gives feelings of control Improves communication and socialization Encourages humor and playfulness Improves cognition Offers sensory stimulation Fosters a strong sense of identity Bolsters self-esteem Nurtures faith Reduces boredom
In art therapy, seniors may take part in the arts, but as initiated by professional art therapists with treatment goals, like building emotional resilience or reducing conflicts (American Art Therapy Association). "Art Therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human 2
March 10th is Middle Name Pride Day! We asked around: What’s your middle name?
“Isabelle” - Norma D.
“Ann” - Samantha
“May” - Joanne V.
“Eugene” - Wayne F.
“Vivian” - Leotta I.
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March Highlights
Dancing Your Way To A Healthier Brain
3/1 Rojo the Llama is coming to visit @ 11am our Diamond House! Come and meet this friendly Llama! 3/1 Miller & Sasser Band coming to Perform in the Diamond House @ 2pm! 3/14 Join us for a Spring Picnic lunch at Red Sunset Park @ 12 noon. 3/16 St. Patrick’s Day Social in Emerald house @ 2pm. 3/21 Join us for an outing to Pottery on Stark @ 1:30pm
3/28 Join us on our outing to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival! Bus will leave community at 10am
St. Patrick’s Day March 17
Daylight Savings Time Begins
March 11
March 14th is National Potato Chip Day! We asked residents and team members to name their favorite potato chip flavor, or one that they wish existed!
“Ranch Doritos!” - Samantha
“Cheddar Ruffles” - Ann’drea
“All of them!” - Wayne F.
“BBQ” - Betty W.
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Dance classes may beat traditional exercise when it comes to older adults balance and it might enhance brain areas related to memory learning the long way. That’s the finding of a small study that compared dance lessons to standard exercise– including brisk walking among 52 healthy seniors. Over a year in a half older adults who took weekly dance classes showed gains in their balancing ability. There were no such improvements in the traditional exercise group. Researchers also found quick hints that the ‘Mambo and Cha– Cha– Chas has extra brain benefits! Patrick Muller one of the researchers on the study suggested the explanation; “The multimodal nature of dance, its physical and mental components might be behind the extra brain boosts” Along with that mental challenge he said, “dance also involves coordinating movement with music– which itself affects the brain. Plus there’s the fun!” Also, another note, with dancing you have to think about each steps, there are motor, cognitive, and social components, and there’s also the music. It would be so interesting to see if this dance study could work with adults or seniors who already have some cognitive impairment, and see if there are similar brain changes. I think we should all dance every week, in some type of way. Host a dance party, or social, if you're caring for a senior citizen, dance with them each day. Turn on some old tunes such as Bing Crosby, Elvis and have fun! You’ll see a change in mood, behaviors and possibly any other daily struggle your loved one may have. Dancing also doesn't just burn calories it makes you feel GREAT!
As stated previously, it’s a great brain booster and mood booster as well! Senior citizens deserve to have those boosters each day. Encourage your loved one to get up and dance, or even just having a nice tune on can truly make a difference, and at the end of the day, that’s what we all want to see– is smiles and making a loved one feel great!
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March Birthdays
Bernice “Bunny” Bailey March 31st
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