Tea Service at The Billings Estate Museum

We had a great time visiting The Billings Estate Museum for their Tea on the Lawn service.

Billings Estate is a National Historic Site on 8 acres of green space and is also home to one of Ottawa's oldest community cemeteries where well-known Ottawa pioneers, such as the Evans, Brouse and Firth families, are laid to rest.

The ladies enjoyed traditional triangle sandwiches, scones with jam & Devonshire cream, as well as an assortment of desserts and varieties of tea. 

July Activities Calendars

View the calendars here to see what your family and friends are up to this summer! 

Communication Strategies for Dementia

Great blog post from A Place for Mom about communication strategies for Dementia. 

Here are the top ten tips listed in the article: 

Here are 10 tips on how to effectively communicate with someone who has moderate to severe dementia.

1. Recognize what you’re up against. Dementia inevitably gets worse with time. People with dementia will gradually have a more difficult time understanding others, as well as communicating in general.
2. Avoid distractions. Try to find a place and time to talk when there aren’t a lot of distractions present. This allows your loved one to focus all their mental energy on the conversation.
3. Speak clearly and naturally in a warm and calm voice. Refrain from ‘babytalk’ or any other kind of condescension.
4. Refer to people by their names. Avoid pronouns like “he,” “she,” and “they” during conversation. Names are also important when greeting a loved one with dementia. For example: “Hi, Grandma.  It’s me, Jeff,” is to be preferred over, “Hi. It’s me.”
5. Talk about one thing at a time. Someone with dementia may not be able to engage in the mental juggling involved in maintaining a conversation with multiple threads.
6. Use nonverbal cues. For example, maintain eye contact and smile. This helps put your loved one at ease and will facilitate understanding. And when dementia is very advanced, nonverbal communication may be the only option available.
7. Listen actively. If you don’t understand something your loved one is telling you, politely let them know.
8. Don’t quibble. Your conversations are not likely to go very far if you try to correct every inaccurate statement your loved one makes. It’s okay to let delusions and misstatements go.
9. Have patience. Give your loved one extra time to process what you say. If you ask a question, give a moment to respond. Don’t let frustration get the better of you.
10. Understand there will be good days and bad days. While the general trend of dementia sufferers is a downward decline, people with dementia will have ups and downs just like anyone else.

Read the full article here: 

http://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/communication-with-a-loved-one-with-dementia/

Victoria Day Tea Party Recap!

The residents enjoyed the traditional teacups and saucers. Every one was different from the next, and they’ve been donated to us from different families over the past few years.

Victoria Day always falls in conjunction with the Tulip Festival every year here in Ottawa, and this year Canada turns 150 so the tulips in our garden have been spectacular.

Signs it May Be Time for Assisted Living

Making the decision to move your loved ones to an assisted living home is complex and emotional. It's not easy to determine exactly when a loved one can no longer be living alone. While every situation is different health conditions, money handling, domestic skills, and social interactions are usually important indicators of when someone is ready to move to an assisted living home: 

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Valentine's Day Celebration at Embassy West Senior Living!

We had a Valentine's Day celebration filled with love at Embassy West Senior Living.  Our team worked hard to set the mood with some beautiful Valentine's themed decorations and all of the residents enjoyed taking pictures with our Valentine's Day themed props! 

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