Lincoln Home’s Steve Raymond, Director of Admissions and Community Outreach and Lynn Norgang, Executive Director. Photo: Kim Traina

LCTV hosted Lincoln Home colleagues, Steve Raymond and Lynn Norgang, to create a new “Spotlight on Seniors” episode. The focus of this show is to help seniors, families, and community members understand more about memory loss and dementia. The onset of dementia can affect our families and our friends, our colleagues and our neighbors, and may come to affect us individually. Cognitively, it changes how people think, act, their perception of time, and their ability to care for themselves. Lincoln Home is strongly motivated to teach others how to improve the lives of people with dementia who are out and about in our community by helping them to feel safe, secure and treated with dignity.

Several anonymous stories of residents were shared to demystify the stigma associated with dementia. Memory loss is not a mental illness. Understanding the disease process and learning communication strategies can raise the consciousness of our community and help us collectively treat those with cognitive impairment with empathy.

The model of caregiving at Lincoln Home, for all residents, is based on the “Best Friend’s Approach.” As in a best friend relationship, we take the time to learn as much as we can about our residents’ likes, family, career and history. We build relationships and create a feeling of family, and use skillful communication based on an understanding of the dementia disease process.

This approach is invaluable for those suffering from memory loss, creating a sense of security, structure, empathy and positive reinforcement. Assisted living residents with some level of cognitive impairment often improve by being in a community environment with structure, social connection, proper nutrition, medication management, and compassionate care.

Learning helpful communication skills sets up a win/win environment by reducing anxiety and building bridges for a positive outcome. People with dementia are struggling to hang on to their dignity and sense of control. Often, a caregiver hears, “I want to go home.” Home, to someone with dementia, does not necessarily mean a place, but more a state of mind, back to when their world made sense and they were in control. Positive diversion and redirection can help move someone from sadness to feeling joyful in the present moment, which is the very basis of the art of memory loss caregiving.

Executive director Lynn Norgang, shared, “Caregiving is a privilege and an honor. We receive far more than we give each and every day. We are so appreciative of our staff who go above and beyond to ensure each resident is treated with dignity, compassion and kindness.”

Towns and cities across our nation are embracing the concept of “Dementia Friendly Communities.” The Lincoln Home is advocating for all businesses, town officials and community leaders to participate in efforts to create a Dementia Friendly Lincoln County. On May 8 and May 15, from 1:30 – 3:30, Lincoln Home is offering free customer service training to local banks, shops, stores, restaurants and other places of business. Employees will learn skills to help understand and communicate compassionately to customers with dementia.

A separate set of free classes in communication skills is also being offered for family caregivers of people with dementia.

The LCTV Spot Light on Seniors show can be viewed starting Thursday, April 11 at 6:30pm, then continuing to air at revolving time slots, or view on-line: http://lctv.org/spotlight-on-seniors-dementia/

To sign up for one of the workshops, or to learn more about family caregiver classes, contact Steve Raymond, 563-3350 or steve@lincoln-home.org. The Lincoln Home is located at 22 River Road, Newcastle.

One2One Care Director, Val Lovelace with Bernadette Nicolaus

Val Lovelace, our One2One Care Director, provides an invaluable service to seniors who wish to stay in their home, and may need some level of assistance. Val is skilled in the many facets of providing home care services, from selecting and training qualified caregivers, to being the listening ear for families trying to get help so their loved one can stay safely at home.

She loves coming to work at Lincoln Home every day because it feels like being home. She gets to make a difference. “One2One feels like a small miracle – being able to support and enable someone to stay home with someone who cares about them and can meet their needs.” She believes, “What sets Lincoln Home apart is having a vested interest in being a part of this community. There is a sense of belonging, and deep roots. The Lincoln Home is a non-profit, independently operated business, which is a whole different flavor than a corporate run facility.”

Val, a veteran of the Navy, has done a significant amount of work helping veterans who are enrolled in the VA Medical System, receive home support. She helps, through the VA, to assess the level of need; from grocery shopping to caregiving so a spouse can go to work.

Behind the scenes, Val is our IT specialist at Lincoln Home. She keeps us technically up to date, and manages our website snafus and crashes. We are very lucky to have her as part of our family!

Executive Director, Lynn Norgang, is proud and passionate about the staff that she is honored to be a part of. She shares, “At The Lincoln Home, we are family, each and every one of us. Together, as a team, we pride ourselves in the care we give our residents. It takes a special kind of person; kind, caring and compassionate, to deliver the level of care we believe in. Our family of exceptional caregivers go above and beyond to make a difference in our residents’ lives every day.”

Wednesday, March 27, Lincoln Home hosted an event to welcome over 10 new employees and thank all the employees for hours of early mornings and late nights of extra coverage. Two home care clients were guests of honor and joined the party which allowed their One2One Home Caregivers to attend. Pizzas, fresh fruit and a beautiful cake that read, “Celebrate You !” ensured fine food, fine friends and much laughter. All 74 members were honored with cards, balloons, and a mongrammed LL Bean canvas bag. Ask any staff member what they love about working at the Lincoln Home, and the message is loud and clear; the feeling of family, for both the residents and each other.

If you are interested in a work environment where you can make a difference every day, Contact Lari-Ann Beaucage, HR, 207-563-3350 Ext. 22, Lari-ann@lincoln-home.org

 Jud Caswell is a little bit like a one-man folk festival. You’ve got your banjo picking, your Irish songs, a rack of acoustic instruments, and a deep catalog of award-winning originals. He’s often compared to James Taylor and David Wilcox, but his songs draw on a long musical history and wide-ranging influences from jazz and Piedmont blues to contemporary folk and rock. Join us Monday, APRIL 8, at 1:00 pm.

Lari-Ann Beaucage started working at the Lincoln Home in 1992 in the dining room. She studied to become a CNA, working with residents until 2015. Lari-Ann is now the staffing manager and head of Human Resources. She still fills in as a CNA when needed because she loves working directly with the residents. In Lari-Ann’s words, “I love we are a family and how well we work as a team. I have worked for other facilities, and none of them had the feel of family that we share here. We all care about each other and strive to create a homelike atmosphere for our residents. No one is just a number here. We all love making a difference in the family’s and resident’s lives.”

Bobby Ives spent two years as a teacher and preacher on Monhegan Island overlooking Manana Island.  He will share the history of Manana and touch on the life of Ray Phillips, the hermit who lived on the island for 50 years.  Join us on Monday, March 25, from 3:00-4:00pm at The Lincoln Home, located at 22 River Road, Newcastle.  For more information, please contact Rhonda Hanna, 563-3350, or rhonda@lincoln-home.org.