Adviser Winter 2019-20 LeadingAge New York Adviser LeadingAge NewYork Winter 2019-20 | Page 33

At St. John’s Home ...
(Continued from page 31)
Beyond Memory takes the lessons learned at St. John’s over several years and promises to create
a more enjoyable setting for those navigating through the later stages of dementia. That starts
with a more proactive approach to adverse behaviors. As DeVinney explains, “residents who are
considered ‘combative with care’
usually are going through
some type of distress. We
In addition to well-being plans, each resident living in one
don’t have behavior plans;
of the two Beyond Memory neighborhoods has a J.O.Y. plan
we have well-being plans,
because we want to address
(short for “Journey of You”).
those things that elders need.”
In addition to well-being
plans, each resident living in one of the two Beyond Memory neighborhoods has a J.O.Y. plan
(short for “Journey of You”). Each resident’s J.O.Y. plan tells their story in a way that helps
shahbazim and nurses go beyond providing what is typically known as person-centered care. The
plan provides everyone who has or wants to have a relationship with that resident with all the
important information they need to engage with them in positive ways. The J.O.Y. plan is a road
map of the elder’s journey to date and is added to by staff and family members during their time at
St. John’s.
St. John’s recently began recruiting “Joy Champions”: caregivers who have expressed a willingness
to embrace a more proactive, positive approach to supporting those living with memory
impairment. The hope for Beyond Memory is that it will eventually be replicated throughout St.
John’s Home, as the desire for moments of joy throughout a person’s day is a universal one. “We
asked ourselves, ‘What is beyond memory?’” explains Abrams. “The answer was joy. That ‘journey
of you’ continues with or without your memory.”
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