Clara Maass Fights Dementia in Seniors Through Games and Conversation

Clara Maass nurses are working to keep seniors' minds active.

Clara Maass Medical Center has launched a program to prevent delirium in elderly patients that includes everything from close monitoring of the patients’ medication to engaging seniors’ minds with card games, conversation and reading.

Through the Elder Life Pilot Program, the hospital hopes to reduce mortality and readmission rates for vulnerable seniors. 

“We’re so proud to be able to offer this service to our senior patients,” Clara Maass President and CEO Mary Ellen Clyne said. “We hope to make their stay in the hospital as comfortable as possible and to contribute to their overall health once they are discharged.”

Since March, Nurses Salmarie Salinas, RN, and Nkechi Okeke, RN, have been the Geriatric Coordinators for CMMC’s Elder Life Program. They start their day at interdisciplinary rounds with the medical teams, overseeing patients ages 70 and older in the Medical-Surgical Wing of the hospital.  Both women check for any history of Alzheimer’s Disease or Delirium in the patients and then make one-on-one visits during the day to assess how the patients are doing.

The coordinators check for signs of confusion, changes in behavior or any decline that’s been observed since the seniors have become inpatients at the hospital as well as other symptoms. Seniors that display those signs are enrolled  deemed to be at risk for delirium and are enrolled into the program where they receive ongoing attention to keep them engaged and comfortable.

With the help of the coordinators and specially-trained volunteers, the patients take part in relaxation exercises, enjoy hobbies such as playing cards or board games, be read to, walk around with a companion, or simply talk with someone to share memories and stories together.

“While they’re in the hospital, it can be confusing,” explained Salinas, who said patients may become overwhelmed or intimidated if it is their first time in a hospital. “Sometimes their family members can’t be there,” said Okeke. “It can be as simple as having someone communicate with them and keeping them mentally and physically active. . . That lessens the fear.”

But the treatment doesn’t end there. Before the senior patients are discharged, both Salinas and Okeke come up with a plan for them to help keep them healthy. Each patient’s “My Care” plan spells out guidelines for follow-up doctors’ appointments, medication scheduling and a number of short and long-term goals.

Though it's only in its pilot stages, both coordinators say they’ve gotten positive feedback from patients and their families.

“It’s rewarding,” said Salinas, who observed that they make a difference in the patients’ lives through simple tasks at times – reminding family to bring in the patient’s prescription eyeglasses, or getting them a device to amplify their hearing.

Okeke said she paricularly enjoys interacting with the seniors and hearing their memories, “I get more from them than they get from me.”

Clara Maass was able to launch the program this spring through a grant from the Health Care Foundation of New Jersey.

“The Health Care Foundation of New Jersey is a consistent supporter of programs and services here at CMMC," Clara Maass vice president Jane Kessler said. "This Elder Life Program is one more way they are bettering the lives of patients at our hospital.”