Navigating the care for a loved one with dementia can be a daunting and, at times, overwhelming journey
Thanks to a generous donation by Spain Commercial, Riverside Health System will soon offer memory care navigation to help caregivers, family members and loved ones walking that path.
“Mr. Steve Spain of Spain Commercial, with all of his philanthropic heart and generosity, came to us wanting to honor his dad, George Spain, who suffered from dementia,” said Riverside Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Nancy Littlefield, DNP, MSHA, RN, FACHE, NEA-BC. “Steve’s experience caring for his dad was similar to the experience of others before him. Family members and loved ones who are caregivers want and need support to reach out to, to talk to. This new memory care navigator position will guide caregivers through a difficult time and help them find resources to make the journey a little easier.”
The navigator position is grounded in an evidence-based program that the health system implemented through a federal grant at the Riverside Center for Excellence in Aging and Lifelong Health (CEALH). The navigator will support approximately 50 families per year, helping patients, family members and caregivers cope with the emotional, psychological and physical effects of dementia.
“When Dad was diagnosed with dementia, it was sad,” Steve said. “This was a guy who did crossword puzzles all the time in the paper and was just a really intelligent guy. Dementia is a really horrible disease,” Steve said. “I thought I could take him in and take care of him, but that was difficult. He wouldn’t sleep, and he would try to get out of the house. We ended up having to get a full-time caretaker to help, and all the while we wondered if we were doing all the right things.”
“Even with all the health care that I’m around, I didn’t know who to call or where to go,” said Steve. His commercial contracting business, Spain Commercial, Inc., builds health care and lifelong health facilities throughout the region. Ultimately, Steve moved his father into a memory care facility where his dad could have additional resources to ensure his safety and well-being.
Other goals of the memory care navigator include expanding personalized care and support by implementing initial and follow-up in-home visits, or via telehealth if circumstances require, with the goal of minimizing stress for caregivers who are supporting a loved one with this chronic disease.
The position will launch first on the Peninsula and ideally will garner additional interest from other donors to help expand the program.
When Steve heard about the opportunity to help fund a memory care navigator position, he said he immediately thought, “If I had had somebody like that who I could call, it would have really helped me.”
“The navigator position is such a positive thing,” Steve said. “I’m just hoping that this will help families and their loved ones along their journey. We have been so blessed, and we want to bless others. Riverside does so much for our community, and I’m honored to help out with such a great cause like this.”
“At the Riverside Foundation, we say there are three reasons we raise money,” said executive director Kristen Witt. “We fill the gaps between what insurance covers and what families need; we help our health system go from good to great by using donations to recruit the best doctors, build the best facilities and provide the best treatment; and we provide a tangible way for people to show their gratitude for the care and support they’ve received.”
The gift from the Spain family fits squarely into all three important reasons for giving.
“Mr. Spain sets an amazing example not just for his family and his company, but also for this entire community,” Kristen said.
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Further support for memory care came from the Lions Club in Smithfield who fundraised with the goal of implementing the Music and Memory program at the Riverside Healthy Living Community - Smithfield. This gift, from a small group of people, will make a big difference to many people for years to come.
Music and Memory is a patented program developed through extensive neurological research and is aimed at helping individuals with memory care diseases to engage with the world, ease pain, and reclaim their humanity through the use of personalized music playlists. Research shows that music activates regions of the brain spared by Alzheimer’s. Studies have demonstrated that familiar music may facilitate attention, reward and motivation, which in turn helps to manage the emotional distress that can sometimes be exhibited by Alzheimer’s patients.
