At the beginning of the global pandemic, health authorities took quick action to protect vulnerable seniors from potential virus outbreaks.  Long-term care facilities were closed to all outside visitors, and healthcare staff were limited to working at a single worksite to ensure potential outbreaks couldn’t spread between care homes.

While these measures were necessary, and largely effective, they also had some unintended consequences.  Therapy programming at many care homes was drastically reduced as the ‘one-site’ rule limited the number of trained staff available to deliver programs, and funding was diverted to other pandemic-related needs.  Now donations to Eldercare are helping to bring these programs back, returning a vital supports like music therapy to seniors in care.

Why does music therapy matter?

Anxiety and depression are among the most common problems that seniors face in long-term care.  Even before the pandemic, 48% of BC seniors in care were being prescribed anti-depressants.  And while mental health is a complex issue, and many factors contribute to that statistic, it’s not hard to imagine why. 

By the time seniors are eligible for long-term care they’ve faced a litany of losses in their lives.  Many of their friends and family have passed on.  They live with chronic illnesses that are slowly robbing them of their mental and physical abilities.  They’ve been forced to give up their home, freedom, and independence.  During the pandemic, they also couldn’t go outside, or visit with family, save through windows and Zoom chats. 

It’s easy to see how anyone could feel lost and alone in these circumstances, and so it’s important that seniors in care have access to tools that can help them cope with loss, and regain a sense of self.  Certified therapists can use music to do just that.

When any of us remember a song, we have memories of more than just the music or lyrics.  We also remember the associations we’ve made with the song throughout our lives: a first kiss, a first dance, an important summer with friends, etc.  Music therapists can use this effect to enhance moods for seniors in care, and help restore their confidence by reminding them of all that they’ve achieved in their lives.

Music therapy has additional benefits for seniors with dementia too.  Dementia and other brain injuries don’t actually cause memories to be lost, rather it’s the ability to retrieve and gain access to the memories that is damaged.  Music can often help seniors reintegrate these memories, while also providing a sense of calm to help them cope with the feelings of frustration and anger that are often associated with the sense of confusion that dementia can cause. 

There’s even exciting research emerging about music’s ability to help seniors living with diseases like Parkinson’s to regain a sense of movement by accessing motor templates stored in their brains.  It’s an exciting field that will see a lot of new research in the decade ahead.

For all these reasons, Eldercare is working hard to restore full music therapy programming in 2022 for 700 long-term care residents at Aberdeen, Glengarry, and The Summit care homes in Victoria, and the Priory in Colwood.  Thank you for helping to make that possible with your support!