Though the program has only been in place for a few months, therapeutic benefits are already making a big impression on staff and family members. All met the challenge, and Parsons says that at least 60 long-term care residents, most dealing with memory loss due to Alzheimer’s, dementia or brain injury, are now benefitting from their own personalized playlists.

Each community was then charged with obtaining certification through Music & Memory’s webinar training program by March.

The money was used to purchase 124 iPods and headphones, distributed to 11 of the Schlegel Villages (the twelfth village will open later this summer) in January. “It’s such a simple but profound approach.” “We looked at each other after watching the documentary and said, ‘We have to do this,’” recalls Parsons. Schlegel Villages leadership made a $10,000 commitment to the iPod program after the COO, Parsons and other Schlegel Village team members viewed Alive Inside: The Story of Music & Memory and heard Executive Director Dan Cohen speak at a conference last August. The facilities are distinguished by an indoor “Main Street” of cafes and shops, spaces designed as hubs for socializing, and a strong sense of community. Recreation & Community Partners Consultant for the network of 12 long-term care and retirement communities in Ontario, Canada, Parsons oversees a system-wide initiative, begun this past January, to bring Music & Memory’s personalized music program to each Village. Someday in the not-too-distant future, If Christy Parsons has her way, everyone who comes to live at a Schlegel Village will receive an iPod and headphones.

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