Triggers to the Past

Memory Care

By Cutright Elizabeth on Feb 16, 2018 in News

The past is alive in the unlikeliest of places. Nestled inside a 20,000-sqft light industrial building in the heart of Chula Vista, Calif., Glenner Town Square harkens back to a different era: 1950s San Diego to be exact. Conceived as an immersive experience for seniors in their 80s, Glenner Town Square is at the forefront of what’s being called Reminiscence Therapy. The hope is that by surrounding seniors with familiar touchstones, like a 1959 T-bird or black and white film, those suffering from dementia will be able to capitalize on their remaining cognitive function to interact with the outside world.

“If you can create an environment that’s designed in a way that captures that part of their life and those memories that are still intact and strong, they can function in a way that’s competent,” explains Dr. Daniel D Sewell, Director, Senior Behavioral Health, UCSD in a video about the project. “They can be comfortable and feel good about themselves because it plays to the individual’s strengths.”

A Multiplicity of Places

Reminiscence Therapy (RT) focuses on creating an immersive environment for patients using “tangible props” from their past to help them preserve cognitive function and improve their quality of life. At Glenner Town Square, everything from building facades to the interiors is designed to invoke a past that, to many suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia, feels much more real than the present. By creating a safe and familiar environment for patients, the creators of Glenner Town Square hope to provide a sense of comfort, peace and continued vitality for patients.

In addition to the 8,500-sqft village – that includes buildings based on the city of San Diego from 1953 to 1961 –  Glenner Town Square will include a working cinema, a 50’s-style diner, a library, boutiques and even swaddled baby dolls in the hospital nursery. Standing by will be trained staff, including caregivers, who will help patients navigate the town streets and businesses.

“The idea of creating this multiplicity of spaces where people can go and get a change of environment by just by walking a few steps made a lot of sense to me,” says Tom Christian, whose wife Grace will be a Glenner Town Square resident.

“This has been a disease of new normal,” he says. “It’s not so much a steady decline, as it is a sudden drop to a new level and it goes that way for months, and there’s a sudden dramatic change of one sort or another. Those triggers to the past are beneficial – it brings Grace to a better place for that moment.”

Memories Matter

Reminiscence therapy involves creating a multi-sensory environment able to trigger memories from the ages of 10 to 30 years of age. Events from an individual’s late teens to early twenties are often the most resilient, what psychologist call “the reminiscence bump.” For seniors suffering from memory loss due to dementia or Alzheimer’s, the reminiscence bump memories remain vivid and easily accessible, making simple triggers especially useful and prompting intense recollections.

Generally, patients participating in Reminiscence Therapy will work with a caregiver, friend or family member to develop key multi-sensory items able to trigger memories. Photographs of significant events from the patients early adulthood or things that would have been ubiquitous in their homes or offices often work well. A patient may be handed a 1950’s telephone for example, or be presented with newspapers or popular books from that era. Movie clips and music also work well. The items used in Reminiscence Therapy are meant to fuel conversation and help the patient recognize their identity and history.

By provoking meaningful conversations and bringing patients back to a sense of living in the “present” and thus strengthening their situational awareness. Because of the nature of the disease, reminiscence therapy works best with people still in the early stages of dementia and has proven effective in curtailing depression and boosting mood.

That’ll Be the Day

Glenner Town Square sprung from the mind of Scott Tarde, CEO of George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers, which runs adult day care centers in Chula Vista, Hillcrest, and Encinitas and was founded in 1982 by Dr. George G. Glenner and his wife, Joy. Dr. Glenner was a world-renowned research pathologist best known for isolating the beta-amyloid protein associated with Alzheimer’s.

For Tarde, Glenner Town Square will be the apex of reminiscence therapy.

“If you can take older adults back into that period, it gives them an opportunity to have reduced agitation, improved mood, and improved sleep quality, which is very important for the overall health of the individual,” he says.

While Glenner Town Square is scheduled to open in March of 2018, the projects creators have already announced plans to build up to 100 similar Town Squares throughout the country. According to Michael Larken, co-managing partner of Village Holdings LLC which has a development agreement with Glenner Family Centers Inc., two additional Town Squares in will be built in San Diego next year, with two to three more slated to arrive on the west coast over the next few years.

“Once the doors are open, I know people will become believers,” Tarde said. “I’ve seen what happens. I’ve seen the reactions people have. It’s very powerful.”