JEA’s Meaningful Moments® program is the foundation of our care model. It is a family-centered concept that starts by learning everything there is to know about our residents – their passions, achievements, careers, family, hobbies and interests. This allows our staff members to develop an individualized plan of care designed around their specific life story. It allows them to create moments of delight, wonder and meaning for our residents in their care each and every day.
Our Meaningful Moments program is built on the following five cornerstones:
Programming
Discovering each resident’s unique life story is the foundation of our Meaningful Moments program. Gathering that information is a collaboration between the resident, family and our staff. This information is then woven into the resident’s daily routine. We honor their activity preferences, while highlighting their greatest accomplishments and tapping into their long-term memories. Our Meaningful Moments program ensures that our residents’ physical, intellectual, spiritual, social and emotional needs are met each and every day.
Family Partnerships
At JEA, we’re committed to supporting our families through their unique journey. Every JEA community offers educational presentations and support groups on a regular basis. We provide a variety of informative literature on the dementia process, which includes helpful hints that can be used by families to make their encounters with their loved one as meaningful as possible. Additionally, each community hosts a family orientation each month. Family orientation is our way of demonstrating our commitment to those that have entrusted us to care for their loved ones. Orientation includes brief overview of dementia process, how to create meaningful moments when visiting your loved one, and what to expect now that you have entrusted us to partner with you in the journey of caring for your loved one.
Education
Each staff member undergoes specialized dementia training, which includes the JEA philosophy of care, utilizing the life story in creating meaningful moments, understanding Alzheimer’s disease and its progression, understanding behaviors as an unmet need, and communication tools and techniques. Ongoing education on dementia-specific topics are presented monthly to our staff to continue to grow their understanding.
Innovation
At JEA, our commitment is to continually identify potential platforms, software and other resources to care for those living with memory loss and their family members. For instance, Smile is a private online tool that allows families to view daily activities and upcoming events, receive stories and photos of meaningful moments of their loved ones, and send messages directly to family members. Another example of our commitment to innovation includes the Eversound hearing aid system, which just won a silver award for excellence in technology. This system uses wireless technology that improves communication for both the hearing impaired and individuals living with dementia. Used for group activities, music therapy and one-on-one communication, Eversound increases active participation, improves communication and creates more moments of joy.
Specialized Dining Program
Many people living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia lose interesting in eating. This may because their depth perception and ability to see contrast is often compromised, so they can’t clearly see the food on the plate. Our specialized dining program provides colorful Fiestaware plates for contrast and improved recognition of meals. We also provide modified utensils, plates or drinkware as needed. We have two different dining spaces, our main dining room and our supportive dining room, which allows for a dignified dining experience for all residents. As weight loss is always a concern, we offer six opportunities to receive nutrition throughout the day, by serving three meals and three substantial snacks daily. We ensure that everyone is receiving quality calories throughout the day. This assists with maintaining weight, minimizes the risk of dehydration and provides structured opportunity to socialize
Meaningful Moments establishes a strong foundation of trust and well-being from which residents are able to create new memories and thrive in an environment of exceptional care.
