It all began with a vision to bring music to every senior living in BC care homes...Now with the Heart for Music Program in 80+ care homes throughout every region of British Columbia, over a 1000 seniors currently have access to their favourite tunes! As lockdowns and restrictions increased again over the winter months, care staff utilized music equipment to bring joy and stimulation to residents in quarantine. Over the past 4 years of Heart for Music, thousands of seniors have benefitted from care staff's hard work bringing beneficial music to individuals and group listening sessions.
Music Bridges the Gap Between Generations
"We currently have first year nursing students in our facility doing their first practicum which focuses on communication and observation. We include these students in our heart for music program because we have found that this program is great for these students to ease them into talking with seniors about music and observing how the elders respond to their music."~ Arrowsmith Lodge
Heart for Music Expansion
Since the Fall of 2021, the program has expanded into 15 new care homes! This brings our total to 81 facilities, who we have worked alongside to improve their residents' music experience through personal and live music.
Unique Donations:Our goal at Heart for Music is to support recreational and care staff in bringing music to their residents. This can look like bringing in a full music program where there is none, or supporting a music therapist in their pre-existing activities. This cohesive donation is designed to become synced with a facility's structure, allowing for easy integration.
Expansion Into Assisted Living
This Spring we have begun to offer the Heart for Music donation specifically to not-for-profit Assisted Living Facilities throughout BC! After requests for a unique music donation that would better suit more independent residents, our team began to offer the HFM program to Assisted Living homes, catering to each facility's needs.
Over 10 Assisted Living Facilities have implemented the Heart for Music Program.
"The residents at APL continue to enjoy the generous donations from Rick’s Heart Foundation. Residents who are able will independently access and use tablets and Bluetooth speakers with assistance from the nursing team. Some residents receive support to set up and enjoy listening to their favourite artists on Spotify. "~ Adanac Park Lodge
A Winter of Giving & Generosity
Thank you for all who have given towards the Heart for Music Program - your donation and involvement truly makes a difference!
Thank you Tim Hortons! We worked with Tim Hortons in Surrey, who provided Czorny Alzheimer's Centre with a Christmas Eve Treat of Coffee, Hot Chocolate, and muffins for their staff and residents. |
Music During Covid-19During the past two years, care homes have often had to drop their regular programming in the wake of outbreaks and quarantines. Alone in their rooms, many seniors have had access to their favourite music to help pass the time, thanks to the hard work of staff bringing the program to them!
"What we did was we used the headphones for the residents on isolation, and they were able to watch their favorite shows or listen to music on our unit iPads during isolation. The headphones also helped the folks who were hard of hearing enjoy the shows. I distributed the headphones among our rehab staff and they were able to make use of them with residents during programming. I’ve also used these headphones in video calls for residents with their families, and they have helped increase the quality of those calls as well. In addition, our home’s programming space is limited, and the dining room serves as our multi-purpose room. Two TVs are on if programming isn’t happening, so the headphones have helped greatly, especially for residents who prefers music ... on iPads."~ Mt. St. Joseph Hospital Long-Term Care
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"The Hearts For Music program has been very positive for our residents, from helping decrease anxiety and agitation to catering to residents specific music taste and languages. We have used Spotify to play Portuguese, Chinese, Punjabi, German, and Spanish music for residents as well as podcast of travel series or Christian music and hymns. The headphones have also worked very well for residents hard of hearing who have issues listening to normal ambiance music."~ Columbus Residence
Making Music Accessible for All:
We help BC Care Homes transition into music streaming services and the latest music-listening devices. CD players and even iPods are suddenly harder to come by, leaving many seniors with a limited music selection. Heart for Music offers seniors their favourite songs in an easy-to-use format. We aid care staff in setting up a Spotify Family Account, which is then downloaded on Amazon tablets, bringing a world of music to their fingertips.
"Your gift through the Heart for Music Program is helping to ensure that we meet our Seniors' diverse needs with dignity and compassion, and improve their quality of life. Thank you for providing a 1 year Spotify Family subscriptions for six of our long term care homes as well as music players, headphones, and speakers to support the many benefits of music for our residents! All six homes are greatly appreciated!"~ St. Paul Foundation
What's Next? (to BC... and beyond!)
Our goal is to hit our 100 facilities milestone in BC and to expand the Heart for Music Program expand Canada this summer! This expansion will be launching soon, so stay tuned by checking out our socials below!
2022 Summer Events
With the weather slowly warming up, our outdoor, summer events are about to kick into gear! Heart for Music works with care facilities to throw outdoor music extravaganzas for residents and staff throughout the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island. Hiring local musicians and food vendors, seniors are treated with an afternoon enjoying memorable tunes in the warm summer climate.
Enjoy some Classic Folk Tunes to brighten up your Spring on our Spotify Playlist :)
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