Arborstone receives funding to conduct research on nursing home soundscapes

In nursing homes, noise is unavoidable as residents and team members go about their days. Just as music and other pleasant sounds can benefit health and wellness, excessive noise can have a negative effect our body’s ability to heal, relax and be well. For people living with dementia and other cognitive impairments, noise can sometimes be very debilitating.
Arborstone Enhanced Care was awarded $35K for their Quality Improvement Project on music therapy by The Center for Brain Health and Innovation (CABHI). The funding was a result of CABHI’s SPARK Program – a new initiative that provides funding to support innovative grassroots ideas that can help to improve brain health or quality of life for older adults.
During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, Arborstone Enhanced Care used the funding to launch a pilot project to audit nursing home sounds. With the help of Accredited Music Therapists (MTA), who use music in therapeutic relationships to support development, health and well-being, this project will focus on music therapy in ways that use this understanding of the relationship between sounds and health and behaviour to enhance the soundscape at Arborstone Enhanced Care. 
Lead by Sarah Condran, Music Therapist at Shannex, the intent of this project is to create a better experience in dining rooms, activity rooms, and other common areas. It will also explore how these spaces can be made better for leisure, dining, family visits, recreational activities and therapeutic activities.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a home atmosphere where residents can fully engage with their community, staff are confident in managing noise and share lessons learned in order to enhance long term care facilities and practices.
 
For more information on The Spark Program, visit https://www.cabhi.com/the-spark-program/.