mgorman's blog

Have you ever had one of those days when everything you touched fell apart?
On a recent shopping trip I stopped into Walmart™ to pick up a wall clock for my home workshop. While I was looking at clocks I brushed against one and started the avalanche! An elderly woman walking by stopped and looked at me and said “Time Flies” and continued on her way. I figured, considering her age, she must know.

We are all allotted a portion of days in this that we call our lives. We’re born, we live, we die. Amen. What comes in between is what we call our life. This is the story of a particular point in the life of a woman; we’ll call her “Jenny”. Jenny has lived a long full life. At this point in her story, Jenny is 84 years old and she lives alone in a retirement community in the sunny South. Jenny is a vibrant, thoughtful person with deep spiritual roots with leanings and ties into the Buddhist community. In fact Jenny told me that she once met the Dali Lama in person!

This presentation is based on the Spark of Life Club program developed and utilized in Australia. This presentation explores the underlying tenets and techniques of the Spark of Life program and explores how they can be used in everyday interactions with residents with dementia to maximize their ability to interact in social and functional situations.

n this article from the Sept 2012 issue of Provider Magazine, an expert offers some tips for building a strong MDS team and avoiding Medicare default payments. (written by Judi Kulus, NHA, RN)

If in sixty years from now my son or daughter is admitted to a healthcare facility, how would I want them to be treated? That’s the question I have frequently asked myself over my career as I have worked with patients. I ask myself that because I want to create and maintain a level of compassion for my patients and a passion for my profession. Sixty years from now I’ll be 116 years old, so it’s not likely that I’ll be the one providing care to my children. It will be someone else, and whoever it is, I want him or her to treat my children with respect, kindness and compassion.

When did therapists become used car salesmen, metaphorically speaking?

I don’t mean to disparage used car salesmen. I know many good people that work in used car sales. I’m playing off of the old stereotype of used car salesman being shady and lacking in moral character.

'Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.' George Eliot

You may have experienced a person with dementia picking up a doll or teddy and talking to it, which we traditionally identify as a symptom of dementia. However, from a Spark of Life perspective, this behavior is seen as an unmet need to have the opportunity to care.