Sigma Alpha Iota

SAI-NATIONAL.ORG SUMMER 2015 PAN PIPES 9 Cohen founded the non-profit organization Music & Memory that works with individual professionals and teams of caregivers within nursing facilities. Music & Memory's approach is simple, elegant, and effective: ey train professionals in nursing homes and other care facilities how to set up legal personalized music programs. Musical favorites tap deep memories not lost to dementia and can reawaken these individuals, enabling them to feel more like themselves again, to converse, to socialize, and to stay present. Cohen and the caregivers in 1,000 certified Music & Memory care facilities across the world have found the therapeutic benefits of personalized music to be life-changing. Residents and caregivers report that these personalized music programs enable residents who have been silent or less communicative to talk and become more social, enable those who are sad and depressed to feel happier and more engaged, and enable those who are less mobile to become more physically active. For as little as $79, a legal playlist of personalized music and an iPod Shuffle can be provided to a resident. Alzheimer's and dementia care facilities can become Certified Music & Memory facilities for $1,000. In addition to the valuable training that the certification provides, these facilities benefit by becoming eligible to receive donated iPods and iTunes cards, access to Music & Memory's Best Practices Resource Bank, and are listed as a Certified Music & Memory Care Facility on the Music & Memory website which is a great resource for families seeking a care. MUSIC—MEMORIES THAT LAST Our brains naturally connect music with long-term memory. ink of your favorite song or music from your high school days. When it comes on the radio, where does it take you? What about the music you and your special someone danced to or called "your" song. When you hear your music, what feelings well up inside you? Even for persons with severe dementia, music can tap deep memories and emotions. Music we love can have a calming effect and has been found to enable the listener to focus on the present moment and regain a connection to others. What is most exciting about Cohen's work is that patients have been able to reconnect to their world and gain improved quality of life from simply listening to personal music favorites. WHAT CAN SAI & THE SISTERHOOD DO? e University of Texas at San Antonio's eta Gamma Collegiate Chapter screened the documentary Alive Inside in the Fall of 2014 and was moved to action. e sisters immediately voted to make Music & Memory their service project and adopted one of the nearly 100 San Antonio nursing facilities to help them raise the money for their certification. e sisters contacted and met with the activities director at the Morningside Ministries facility who was thrilled to learn of this program and its exciting benefits. Next, eta Gamma planned their musicale program comprised of music that would be on their parents' and grandparents' personalized playlists. In one night, this "Oldies, but Goodies" program raised both awareness and the $1,000 necessary for the first of many San Antonio facilities to become certified. Since there are approximately 340,000 Texans living with Alzheimer's and currently only 10 Music & Memory Certified Care Facilities, eta Gamma sisters plan to make this cause a long- term service project. UTSA's eta Gamma Chapter and the San Antonio Alumnae Chapter have chosen their next facility and will not rest until they have spread the word about music's effect to every Alzheimer's and dementia care facility in San Antonio. Music & Memory's goal is to make this miraculous form of personalized music therapy the gold standard in Alzheimer's and dementia care facilities. eir goal aligns with SAI's Mission "to support and promote successful and innovative educational programs in music for all stages of life." ink about the couple who attended the music show at the theme park. ink of how Henry was brought back to life aer listening to his Cab Calloway favorites. ink of someone you know who is living with Alzheimer's or dementia. We know music's power. We now know about this program's effect and music's benefit to these individuals. As musicians, we cannot sit idly by. If musicians do not champion this cause, who should? Who will? If you are interested in learning more about how you and your chapter can become involved, please don't hesitate to contact me: Diana Allan, SAI Patroness at diana.allan@utsa.edu, or better yet, come to our session at the National Convention in St. Louis on July 27 at 8:00 a.m.. As sisters, we need to raise the banner high: "Sing the greatness of the soul and spirit, Sing the joy of peace and friendship's merit, Music is a kind and truthful speech; In a language out of mere word's reach, Sing we now to Sigma Alpha Iota." Editor's Note: A workshop on the documentary will be presented by Victoria Reyna of eta Gamma at the SAI National Convention in St. Louis. SAI Patroness and Associate Professor of Voice University of Texas at San Antonio Dr. Diana Allan is an initiate of eta Gamma. SERVICE THROUGH MUSIC Members of the Theta Gamma Chapter at the University of Texas at San Antonio raised money for Morningside Ministry for Music & Memory efforts. For more information, visit musicpeakperformance.com CLICK FOR MORE

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