To emphasize the power of art at alleviating health issues, we would like to make special notice to a previous resident at Richview Manor, Nora F. Living with Parkinson’s disease, Nora’s day to day life was turbulent, with bouts of tremors and instability that punctuated her day. However, Nora has always found respite in art – as an avid painter, Nora was happiest when she was painting and during these times the anxiety, worry and physical tremor associated with her Parkinson’s disease was non-existent. She was truly in her own little world – one where she refused to be defined by her disorder. Nora’s paintings have been featured in the Canadian Parkinson’s Society Calendar and she has been honoured with the Jubilee Award for her volunteerism and philanthropy. Although Nora’s story is amazing, it is not a unique one; many of our residents respond positively to arts therapy and show a reduction in both behavioural and physical symptoms – illustrating just how universal arts therapy is.

At Richview Manor, the therapeutic effects of art have been explored in a variety of our arts and craft programs. Our largest and most successful art-based program is Creative Expressions – a program started by Marisanna Tersigni, an art therapist with a degree from York University. Creative expressions club focuses on paint based approaches to creating artwork, through guided, reference based or free-form expression. In this way, residents are encouraged to create art at whatever level they feel comfortable. As part of the program, Marisanna organized the resident Art Show, where she displayed the resident’s framed artwork for viewing by family, friends and guests. Residents were also given the chance put their artwork up for auction, with all proceeds from bids being completely put back into funding our future resident programs and events. Other than Creative Expressions, residents also have a plethora of art activities available to them – the favourites being card making, knitting, beading and “Quilty Pleasures” – a club where residents create surreal landscapes and psychedelic abstracts through the unique and specialized medium of quilting. Regardless of the medium, at the end of the day, these clubs are about giving residents the freedom and opportunity to stimulate their creativity, consolidate and express their emotions and overcome their personal hurdles through the power of art.

At Richview Manor, we believe that music, apart from cultivating warmth and contentment, also has the ability to heal and nurture those that are physically, cognitively or emotionally discontent. Furthermore, the idea of music as a healing force goes beyond just philosophy and ideology – there is actually some amazing science behind it.  Within the last fifty years, it has become more evident that music has the ability to reduce anxiety, increase immune functions, and even ameliorate the debilitating effects of chronic pain. Scientifically, the effects of a pleasing auditory stimulation are thought to calm and soothe by reducing the activity of a brain region known as the “central nucleus of the amygdala”, which regulates fear and anxiety responses. By reducing activity of the amygdala this will, in turn, decrease stimulation of other key brain regions, such as the hypothalamus – a brain region which regulates the levels of hormones circulating in the body. One of these major hormones under hypothalamic control is cortisol, a hormone involved in the stress response. If cortisol is present in high concentrations in circulation it can lead to the anxiety and unfocused tension that is common in the ageing demographic.  Furthermore, cortisol also acts as an immune-suppressant, thereby making these stressed individuals more prone to infection. As such, it is this reduction in cortisol that is all-important in music therapy.

Music therapy is a natural and extremely effective way for people to lessen the stress and anxiety in their lives – in fact, it has been shown to be more effective than prescribed drugs at reducing the influence of life stressors on the mind and body. Richview Manor fully supports the music therapy initiative by backing programs from different organization that are geared towards keeping seniors and music connected. For example, for our residents who are living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia’s we are currently working with the Alzheimer’s Society though their “Music and Memory: iPod Project” – a project geared towards keeping residents connected to their favourite music by supplying eligible residents with a free pre-loaded iPod and headphones. But apart from connecting residents with music programs, Richview Manor also hosts and organizes a surfeit of musical events in a variety of music genres – from large classical concerts in our grand view dining hall to small traditional bands in our lobby lounge café, to even musical theatre outings at local theatres. One of our most renown and beloved musical events is Richview Idol – an annual musical competition in association with Musaic School of Music that spans three months where students perform live renditions for our residents as they compete for the Richview Idol crown. Residents enjoy not only the music, but also have the opportunity to act as judges for the event, allowing them to really become part of the festivities and experience the music.

As firm believers and advocates for the power of music, Richview Manor strives to uphold our tradition of maintaining a strong and capricious musical presence and we encourage family, residents and loved ones to let music become part of their lives.

At Richview Manor we know that physical exercise is vitally important for elderly individuals, both for mental and physical stability and reassurance. As such, we employ some of the best physiotherapists that run individualized regiments with our residents in our state of the art facility. In order to get a better understanding about the exercises, structure and success stories of physiotherapy, we did a little Q&A with one of our Physiotherapy Assistants (PTA), Roger Donville.

Q: How much physical activity should a person over the age of 65 really be doing?

A: Really it depends on each individual’s strengths and capabilities but the more the better within that person’s comfort level. Particularly, with the aging population we like to focus on strengthening and balancing since most age-related accidents are related to falls and slips. We often will set up programs depending on the person’s specific needs and capabilities.

Q: Based on personal experience, what benefits do you think residents are gaining from physiotherapy?

A: At the end of the day, physical activity is a means to, not only prolong life, but also as a means to stay independent and healthy in later life. We often see that after starting physiotherapy, residents are more physically able, less likely to fall and have a larger degree of movement and activity. More than this though, we see such a huge change in resident’s confidence and self-esteem; they are more willing to be active, they are less fearful of going outside and interacting with people and they are more happy and independent.

Q: What sort of regiments and exercise do you run with residents?

A: Walking is the best exercise you can do at this age, and so if the person is able to walk we will do it as much as possible. Likewise, we can do assistive range of motion exercises for those who have limited, but present, movements. For example, if the person has problems with moving their arm, they can move their arms as much as possible and then we assist them with moving their arm over the remainder of the possible movement range. In this way we can support individuals in using muscle groups that they would not usually use and allow them to become strengthened – ultimately this will allow them to use these range of motions without assistance.

Q: What challenges do you have in encouraging residents to be active and how can/do you and families encourage residents to be more active?

A: The biggest challenge is finding the right program for each person. Everyone has a ‘theme’ and they are all different in their personalities, experiences and mindsets so you always have to listen to the residents and figure out who they are. Only after you have done this can you start to respond to their concerns in the most personal and impactful way; some people respond very well to being reminded what the benefits of physiotherapy are while others may respond better to me leaving and coming back at a later time. Another large problem is dementia and depression as they often leave people feeling lethargic and anxious – very often individuals with these disorders vary immensely in their cooperativeness from day to day. The best thing I can do during these situations is to not take it personally – like everyone else I know these individuals have good and bad days, but that their bad days may be particularly burdened by these disorders. My message to the families would be to continuously outline the benefits of physiotherapy to your loved ones and to tell them your concerns about their health to perhaps make them feel more at ease about the process.

Q: What is your impression of Richview Manor from a physiotherapy perspective?

A: The building is top notch and is the best facility that I work at – they have large, open areas that are perfect for walks and other exercises and they have some of the best gym equipment, both in terms of variety and functionality. Apart from this, it is a very friendly environment where everyone respects each other and is friendly. It is really nice to work in a place where you do not feel isolated and where you can really maintain your self-respect. I would also like to say that it is amazing that there are tons of active and physical programs that are offered at Richview for all individuals (independent and assisted living), such as ‘walks at mill pond’ and ‘sit and be fit’, as it gets residents in an active state of mind and encourages them to maintain this in physiotherapy.

Q: Could you tell me about some of your success stories at Richview Manor?

A: There are quite a few residents at Richview who amaze me on a day-to-day basis. One of my biggest achievements was Ruth – when I first met Ruth she was in a wheelchair and she was very reluctant to get up and move around but now she no longer uses her wheelchair and she has a lot of fun going for walks and zipping from place to place. Another big win for me was our resident, Alan, who had problems with his left arm; after we did some assistive range of motion exercises he has been moving his arm by himself and really becoming self-sufficient with the exercises. Apart from this, many of our residents like Arcadio, Margaret and Irene always try their best and push themselves to do better. The real key is for residents to never give up and always work within their capabilities – a mantra that our residents uphold on a daily basis.

Hocaet; nius catum oculut vigil vic a vidius te, ut nem nonvoctum qua re. m quiatentur aut fugitia ssincium aut odi con plibus volenecabore volest harchil laborro omnist, ut aut arum idebita ditates ad.

Hocaet; nius catum oculut vigil vic a vidius te, ut nem nonvoctum qua re. m quiatentur aut fugitia ssincium aut odi con plibus volenecabore volest harchil laborro omnist, ut aut arum idebita ditates ad.