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| Sunday, June 01, 2008 | (No comments posted.)
CROWN POINT | Franciscan Sisters of Chicago, sponsors of 17 senior-living communities in five states, named St. Anthony Home in Crown Point the recipient of this year’s Mother Theresa Dudzik Award for its Snoezelen Multi-Sensory Stimulation Project for enhanced dementia care.
St. Anthony Home’s Snoezelen Room stimulates residents’ primary senses through the use of visual projectors, aromatherapies, a variety of foods, textured tactile materials and soft music or soothing sounds.
As a result of multi-sensory stimulation, residents experience a significant decrease in agitation, communication difficulties, wandering behaviors, depression and other debilitating effects associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In addition, the Snoezelen Room promotes numerous opportunities for residents to experience meaningful moments in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
“The panel of judges selected the St. Anthony Home project because of its proven validity and effectiveness for the residents it’s meant to serve,” said Sister Diane Marie Collins, general minister for the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago. “The judges cited that the St. Anthony Home staff thought on a broader scale and invited other departments to use the Snoezelen Room, which also allowed observation and measurement of how the room worked for residents with cognitive impairment outside the dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease unit.”
Linda O’Neill, executive director of Franciscan Communities at St.
Anthony Campus, believes the Snoezelen Room will help enhance the quality of life for residents with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
“It is estimated that more than 5.2 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States today, and it is estimated that one-in-eight baby boomers will be diagnosed with this disease. As care providers, we must constantly challenge ourselves to uncover and implement new techniques that will help to enhance the quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. "As the recipient of this year’s Mother Theresa Dudzik Award, Franciscan Communities at the St. Anthony Campus will be able to help our residents and clients continue to experience the fullness of their lives,” O’Neill said.
For more information about the program, call (219) 661-5100.
- For The Times
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