Montessori method comes to Sunnybrook

Feb. 14--An assisted living facility in Burlington has put in place an emerging approach to care for its residents with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

The Montessori education method, developed more than 100 years ago by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori to foster learning among young children, has been used in schools since its inception. But it wasn't until the past decade or so its use was expanded to people with memory disorders.

"(Reserachers) have found that it's extremely beneficial for adults with dementia and any type of memory barriers," said Hannah Nickelsen, marketing director for Sunnybrook Assisted Living & Memory Care Center in Burlington.

Sunnybrook Assisted Living, whose management company is based in Portland, Oregon, has been implementing Montessori at its facilities throughout the United States for several years, and Burlington's Sunnybrook began putting the method to work about six months ago. Now, staff and residents are ready to show it to the community with an open house from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.Feb. 22 in hopes of raising awareness about the less conventional approach to memory care.

Conveniently enough, the residents' hosting of the event fits the Montessori mold.

"A normal pizza party, it's maybe you invite some people, you set the table, you decorate. It takes about one to two hours to do," Nickelson said.

"In Montessori, you break it down so it takes eight to nine hours, and through that, everybody has a role. Those who are crafty, maybe led a life of being artistic, they can do invitations. They might decorate. Those who are more introverted might be doing things behind the scenes."

Montessori isn't just about hosting events. It can involve anything as simple as sweeping the floor to more complicated things such as brewing beer and raising alpacas and chickens, all of which have been done at sister homes of Sunnybrook.

"In Montessori, and in Sunnybrook, we try to hide the work, and what I mean by that is activities have a purpose, so with beer pong, it's hand-eye coordination and routine," Nickelson said.

That's right, she said beer pong.

Simply put, Montessori is based on the idea of living with purpose and doing what you know.

It's a constantly running program, seven days a week.

"There's no gap for them not to have something to do," said Mallory Hymes, executive director of Sunnybrook.

She sees a range of benefits in memory care residents as a result of Montessori, including a decrease in falls, sun-downing and medications, especially anti-psychotics and pain killers, all of which Hymes attributed to keeping the residents busy.

It also cuts back on confusion.

People with memory disorders typically lose their working memory but retain their long-term memory. Being engaged in activities in which residents are familiar helps them pull from their long-term memories, which, in turn, brings them comfort.

"Somebody (who was a farmer) that I knew didn't ever remember my name, but when I started working with him in the tomato gardens, he actually asked me, the next day, 'Hey, Hannah, how's my tomato garden,'" Nickelson said.

Knowing about residents' backgrounds and planning activities accordingly is vital to Montessori, as is encouraging residents' independence in continuing to do those activities.

"We think that encouraging independence and being a supportive role in that is really key to it, because if you take everything you live for away, you don't have much to live for," Nickelson said.

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