Gall Receives “Dignity in Life” Award

At the most recent Vetter Senior Living Life Enrichment Conference, Monika Gall, Life Enrichment Coordinator at Sumner Place Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation, was presented with the “Dignity In Life” award due to her ongoing development of Music and Memory at Sumner Place.

Monika Gall

Music and Memory provides access to personalized music through the use of iPods and headphones for individuals, specifically for those with dementia. This past year Brown University in Rhode Island conducted a study which utilized the development of the Music and Memory program. Only four facilities in the nation were chosen for this specific study and Sumner Place in Lincoln, NE was one of them. This study was very specific in process and procedure as well as resident selection. There were monthly meetings with representatives from Brown University along with deadlines and goals set by them and were to be achieved by the facility.

Courtney Schmitz MS, CTRS, CDP, Life Enrichment Coordinator with Vetter Senior Living, stated, “It was under the direction and dedication of Monika that Sumner Place quickly soared to be the best, most effective of the four facilities chosen. At the conclusion of the study, the goal was fifteen residents were to be engaged in the Music and Memory Program. Monika over exceeded the expectation by having eighteen residents, far beyond any of the other facilities in the study. Today, Monika has twenty-six residents (and counting) receiving Music and Memory which has transformed their culture and has of course added to decreasing out of character responses and antipsychotic medication administrated.” Sumner Place is the only skilled nursing facility in Lincoln, NE that is Music and Memory Certified.

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