Kathy Struttmann, RN
Kathy was immediately interested in the product's functionality. How it would store faces, names, and connections and how it would relay that information to the patient were her primary interests.
On the human side, Kathy described the sheer humiliation Alzheimer’s and dementia patients face. These are proud indivduals who have often spent their whole lives raising and caring for others. Having to be cared for themselves can feel very demeaning. They have been the mind and the organizer for everyone else, and now they can’t even organize their own lives. Memio would help alleviate the shame and humiliation, especially if the memory jogger was personal to the patients and others couldn’t interact with it.
Some of the details made it into the short film, but I was concerned that using all of them would paint an overly negative and cartoonish depiction of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.In terms of physical signs of dementia, Kathy described her patients’ tendency to put their shirt on backwards, put on only one earring, and even use foundation as blush.
Kathy also described the reaction of dementia and Alzheimer’s patients to public spaces. She said they are often overwhelmed by new lighting, excessive noises, and crowded spaces. The information is simply too much for them to process. The best place for these patients to be in a public setting is in an area where they can see everyone, in a corner with nothing behind them that would cause a distraction. Natural lighting also greatly helps.
Kathy also recommended Teepa Snow’s YouTube Channel. Teepa Snow is an occupational therapist with forty years of clinical practice experience and one of the world’s leading educators on dementia and the care that accompanies it. In 2005, she founded Positive Approach® to Care (PAC), a company that provides dementia care training, services, and products around the world. Her videos on YouTube give detailed, accurate instructions on how to care for dementia patients.
Teepa’s videos provided the details steps to calm dementia patients that was used in the film:
De-escalating a crisis
- Remove the threat
- Back away/clear space
- Be on her side
- Get at or below eye level
- Use hand under hand
- Breathe in sync
- Calm voice
- Relax body
- Attend to needs
- Be willing to go where he/she is
