Inspirations’ Mission: Joy
Our founders, Ben and Kacey, began working in senior living as consultants. As they visited hundreds of Memory Care communities across the country, they saw a gap in the market for Memory Care that was filled with Purpose, Joy, and Laughter! They founded Inspirations to have these core values in mind.
The core value we’re focusing on today is Joy! How in the world could something as devastating as dementia and Alzheimer’s go hand in hand with joy? We’re not trying to undercut the seriousness of this disease. We’ve seen firsthand the devastation dementia can bring to family and friends.
However, we’ve also seen that in the midst of this struggle, there’s still joy to be found for those living with dementia! And while this may not be the future our residents and their families envisioned for themselves, there are moments of joy to be lived! Three ways that we intentionally incorporate joy into Inspirations is by focusing on the resident’s skill set, finding out what lights them up, and incorporating things that universally brings joy into our care!
Focusing on what the resident can do:
When we first hear a dementia diagnosis, our first thought is on what will be lost with this disease. And while this is a painful experience, we try to focus on what the resident still can do. Our residents are still cleverly funny, engaging, and interesting! They all have unique passions and hobbies and focusing on what they are capable of while caring for them is our key to unlocking what they are able to contribute to our community!
Finding what lights them up:
We all have something that makes our eyes glimmer with excitement when we talk about them. This could be hiking, cooking, crocheting, gardening: or anything that makes your heart rate go up just ever so slightly when it’s mentioned in a conversation. It’s our job as care providers to discover what brightens our residents' day through quality time with them and conversations with their family.
Incorporating the things that bring everyone joy:
While everyone has individual passions that bring them joy, we can all agree there are some avenues of joy that transcend the person and apply to everyone. For example, we love incorporating animals into our care because who wouldn’t want to hold a baby goat or watch vibrant fish swim in a beautifully appointed aquarium? We also highly value music therapy in our communities because it is truly an activity that everyone can engage and interact with.
These pieces are critical to bringing joy to our residents living with dementia. While the prognosis of dementia is a hard one, it doesn’t have to be a joyless one! If you know someone diagnosed with a form of dementia, we’d love to partner with you to see how we can help them find joy, and live to the fullest.
