The Heartwood Blog

I Wonder as I Wander

I Wonder as I Wander

Wandering – it’s a common happening in patients with memory loss. In fact, six in every ten patients living with Alzheimer’s will exhibit signs of wandering. What is wandering though; is it dangerous, what’s causing it, what can I do to help? These are questions that...

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Pet Therapy & Memory Loss

Pet Therapy & Memory Loss

You may be a dog person or a cat person, but at the end of the day you are a human being with the need to connect and feel comfort. Pets play a huge role in our lives as members of our families or objects of affection. For seniors with memory loss, the attraction to...

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Home is Where the Heartwood is

Home is Where the Heartwood is

Our motto is ‘We put our Hearts into making you feel at Home’ Your parent or grandparent has lived in one place for decades. They have called that house or apartment their home for as long as you can remember. Losing the feeling of identifying a living space as “home”...

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5 Signs It’s Time to Consider Assisted Living

5 Signs It’s Time to Consider Assisted Living

It safe to say that one of the hardest decisions we will ever make during our lifetime will involve how we choose to care for our family members as they age. Often enough people are in denial that there’s a need for assisted living, both the future resident and their...

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Ah Yes, I Remember It Well

Ah Yes, I Remember It Well

As humans, one of our historical characteristics is that we are storytellers! Remember your uncle Leonard who had a story about everything and talked about it at length for hours during every family dinner? Man did that drive you nuts when you were a kid, but now that...

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Caring for Dementia: Writing Letters to Your Loved One

Caring for Dementia: Writing Letters to Your Loved One

Is there anything more personal, more intimate, or more endearing than a personal letter from a beloved family member? In today’s world, handwritten letters are unusual. But when caring for dementia, it’s important to connect with people in the ways they are the most...

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How Feelings of Guilt Affect Making Memory Care Decisions

How Feelings of Guilt Affect Making Memory Care Decisions

Guilt. It is a normal emotion to feel when you are caring for a loved one who is experiencing progressive memory loss. Whether it is your spouse or your mom or dad, you want to help them get better, to take care of them, to ensure that they are happy and have a good...

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Music and Memory

Music and Memory

Have you ever begun listening to a familiar song, and then felt magically transported to an earlier time and place in your life? Music seems to have that kind of power over people, including people who have significant memory loss in many cases. At Heartwood we’ve...

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