Watermark Retirement Communities partners with UCLA

Thanks to a national partnership between Watermark Retirement Communities® and UCLA’s Longevity Center, Tampa senior living community The Watermark at Trinity is now offering the “Brain Café” – a unique memory course for residents. The eight-week program was designed specifically for Watermark Retirement Communities and its residents with mild memory concerns. It teaches memory-enhancing techniques, as well as the basics of memory and how it works.

During the one-hour weekly sessions, The Watermark at Trinity staff certified in the Brain Café program leads residents in activities and instruction based on long-standing memory research and evidence-based memory techniques. These include the use of mnemonic techniques like songs, poems, patterns and word association to assist with recall; paying attention to what one wants to remember; making associations by connecting related things; and visualizing doing an activity in the future.

Resident Susan Bandi, 86, was one of nine participants in The Watermark at Trinity’s second Brain Café program, which ended in October. She has lived at the community for only two months, and she said the Brain Café has been especially valuable in helping her to remember other residents’ names.

“My brain is pretty good, but sometimes I need a little assistance,” Bandi said. “Now, if I meet someone and I want to remember their name, I use one of the tricks I learned in the Brain Café. For example, I eat with a woman named Polly. And I remember her name by thinking of the song ‘Polly Waddle Doodle All the Day’ when I see her.”

Resident Bernice Seigel, 90, also participated in the first Brain Café program. A former teacher and community theater actor, Seigel previously spent many years exercising her memory by having to remember students’ names and her lines. But, she said as she’s gotten older, she’s noticed her “memory going a little bit.”

“One thing I was forever forgetting was to wear my hearing aids, which I need,” Seigel said. “I learned in the Brain Café to put a note that says ‘Hearing Aids’ on the doorknob of my apartment that I’ll see before I leave; and in the last seven or eight weeks, I haven’t forgotten them.”

“Offering this type of programming supports our residents who are experiencing normal age-related memory challenges and fits within our vision of helping the whole person thrive,” said Julie Winslow, community life director at The Watermark at Trinity. “It’s been our pleasure to partner with UCLA on this amazing training program to help enhance our residents’ memories, and, therefore, overall quality of life.”

In order to lead the Brain Café program at The Watermark at Trinity, Winslow completed a certification program with UCLA’s Longevity Center. Earning the Certified Memory Trainer, UCLA Longevity Center certificate entails completing a six-hour virtual “train the trainer” course provided by UCLA faculty and staff.

Founded in 1991, The UCLA Longevity Center uses cutting-edge research, innovative education techniques and focused patient care to help people live longer and age well. Through a licensing agreement, the UCLA Longevity Center certifies Watermark staff at communities nationally to conduct the award-winning Brain Café course that’s specifically customized for Watermark and its residents. To date, Watermark has implemented the Brain Café memory program at 54 of its independent living communities, including The Watermark at Trinity.

Watermark has a long-standing commitment to cognitive health, offering residents such programs as Watermark University, Thrive Memory Care and Certified Dementia Training. In addition to UCLA, Watermark Retirement Communities also collaborates with the University of Arizona on innovative programming.

About The Watermark at Trinity

Located in Trinity, Fla., The Watermark at Trinity is a 218-residence senior living community offering independent living, assisted living and memory care in the Pasco County suburb of Trinity. Differentiators of the community include certified associates, continuous care and an extraordinary lifestyle built on an abundance of choices. The Watermark at Trinity was named a Top 25 Assisted Living Community in Florida by Innovators of Senior Living (IOSL) in 2023. Owned and managed by Watermark Retirement Communities, The Watermark at Trinity is committed to creating an extraordinary community where people thrive. To learn more visit trinity.watermarkcommunities.com.

About Watermark Retirement Communities®

Watermark creates extraordinary and innovative communities where people thrive. We believe aging is about renewal rather than retirement. Watermark communities are known for highly trained and caring associates, a lifestyle built on choice, fine amenities, integrative wellness and innovative programs including the award-winning Watermark University featuring a wide variety of engaging classes for residents and area seniors. Watermark has been named in the top 25 Best Workplaces for Aging Services™ in a national program conducted by the Great Place to Work® Institute and published on Fortune.com. Based in Tucson AZ, Watermark is a privately held company with a reputation for over 30 years for service, innovation, integrity and financial stability, and manages more than 65 retirement communities in 21 states coast to coast. Visit watermarkcommunities.com for more information.

About the UCLA Longevity Center

Founded in 1991, The UCLA Longevity Center uses cutting-edge research, innovative education techniques and focused patient care to help people live longer and age well. The Center offers several programs with the goal of improving memory in people experiencing mild loss in the normal course of aging. The UCLA Longevity Center’s goals align well with Watermark’s mission: to provide a high quality of life for residents by supporting their physical and intellectual health, as well as their emotional and spiritual well-being.