A music program for Tennessee nursing home residents with Alzeheimer's saw setbacks in its first year, but is now on track to serve dozens of nursing homes.
The Tennessee Arts Commission received a $1 million grant for the program last year. The commission originally partnered with Music and Memory Inc., but after that group faced organizational issues the grant funds were frozen. Due to the setbacks, the commission rebranded to form the “Tennessee Person-Centered Music Program.” The program provides training, equipment, players, and personalized playlists for nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
Suzanne Lynch is the Director of Marketing and Development at the Tennessee Arts Commission. She said despite the setbacks, they revived the program because of the strong impact it can have.
“We just know that music is such a powerful tool for all people, and it can just really help benefit the lives of those that are suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia,” Lynch said. “It’s been proven that it really just makes a difference in their day to day life.”
The original grant was funded by nursing home civil monetary penalties provided by the Tennessee Department of Health. With the funding active again, Lynch said the program recently launched their first pilot program in Murfreesboro. She said the year-long delay is a result of having to readjust the original program proposal to be handled completely by the commission.
“We had to...recreate a program that’s different from theirs. It’s using the same evidence-based research as far as individual playlists, how they improve people with Dementia and Alzheimer’s,” Lynch said.
Lynch said 90 nursing homes have expressed interest in becoming an initial partner institution for the project. The program’s grant requires 147 facilities to participate statewide.
Lynch said the commission is actively seeking volunteers to assist with the program throughout Tennessee. Prospective program volunteers can find more information at http://tnpersoncenteredmusic.org.
