In a time when technology makes the generation gap seem larger than ever, a group of high school students are working to leverage modern gadgets to bridge that divide.
At Saratoga Springs High School, a group of students led by Emma Hyatt and advised by Tim O’Brien have formed the Generation Outreach club, the first of its kind. The mission of the club is to connect with the Music and Memory program to bring the gift of music to Alzheimer’s patients at Wesley Nursing Home in Saratoga Springs by providing them iPods loaded with familiar tunes from their younger days.
Hyatt, who started the club, said she got the idea after her mom told her about the Music and Memory program.
“I took the idea and ran with it and started the club,” said Hyatt.
She went to O’Brien, who teaches social studies and is also her tennis coach, and asked him to be the advisor for the club. O’Brien said the club came up with the name, goal and formed a mission statement: to improve the quality of life for individuals suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s through the use of music.
“We started brainstorming on how to raise money and collect iPods for the program,” he said. “Generation Outreach really does mean from one generation to another, making that connection.”
Sarah Willner-Giwerc is also a student in the club and said she had been volunteering at Wesley since she was little.
“I saw firsthand the joy that music can bring to people suffering from Alzheimer’s,” she said.
Sophia Nelson, another club member, said she was in the school orchestra with Hyatt in the eighth grade and they played at Wesley.
“The patients really loved it,” she said.
O’Brien said all the money and iPods collected so far will go to Wesley so the staff can be trained in the use of the technology and how to ask the patients questions as the music brings up memories in patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. So far, the club has collected 10 iPods. The goal is to gather 100 iPods to be delivered to Wesley. The club has been working with Fran Cronin, the director of activities at Wesley, to facilitate the delivery of the iPods as well as the training of the staff. Once the Music and Memory program is up and running, workers can download music onto iPods from a computer at the nursing home using the program’s software.
The Music and Memory program is catching on nationwide, said Executive Director Dan Cohen.
“Music and Memory promotes the use of personalized music to improve the lives of people with a wide range of cognitive and physical conditions,” Cohen said. “It is especially effective with Alzheimer’s patients and those with dementia who get to a point where they no longer recognize family members and they no longer speak, but if they hear music from their youth, they will awaken.”
Cohen is a master of social work by training but spent most of his life in technology companies. One day, he heard on the radio that iPods were being used in therapy sessions with good results.
I thought, why not try the same thing with people who are suffering from cognitive diseases?” Cohen said. “I wanted to bring music to nursing homes, but no one seemed to be using iPods.”
He set up the first program at a nursing home on Long Island, and since then has trained 60 nursing homes in 21 states.
“I expect this to be adopted by every nursing home because the results are so overwhelmingly positive,” Cohen said. “Everybody wins. Families love it. Nursing homes also love it because patients who use the iPods are more cooperative, attentive, engaged. Care becomes smoother, so it’s also good for staff morale.
The Generation Outreach Club asked Cohen for guidance and he spoke to Wesley Nursing home and offered them support materials. He said he is proud of the initiative the students have shown by forming the club.
“Generation Outreach is really the first club geared to use the iPods to reach out to nursing homes,” said Cohen. “This club will serve as a model to the schools in New York as well as the whole country. We know the program works, it works well with the youth and with Alzheimer’s patients, and they are the first to formalize it.”
The club hopes to organize fundraising events, perhaps a dance marathon to the music that will be played for nursing home patients. Members are also looking to the community for donations. Though any model of iPod will work, non-Apple MP3 players are not compatible with the music software. The club is also looking for donations of headphones (but no ear buds) and cash.
For more information, contact Tim O’Brien at [email protected] or [email protected] or 587-6690, ext. 3315.
For more on the Music and Memory program itself, visit musicandmemory.org.