Using music as therapy

Listening to music can have an incredible impact on people. For one Rapid City, SD nursing home, it is doing much more.

“Just to see that spark, to see that moment of recognition is a wonderful thing. You can’t put a price tag on it,” said Kelli Olmsted, director of Rehab at Golden Living-Bella Vista.

That spark comes from hearing the music they recognize as part of music therapy, something that has just come to Golden Living.

Hilda Sieler, Ephriam’s wife, hopes that music therapy will help with her husband’s dementia.

“I can watch him clap his hands or tap his feet because he likes the accordion music. He used to dance to that quite a bit,” said Hilda. “His dad played the accordion and then his brother Vic played the accordion. So, it’s been his favorite music.”

Olmsted says studies state that music is one’s natural pacemaker, and can be used to lift the moods of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

“People who have damage, whether it be due to an injury, whether it be due to dementia. Your brain is a wonderful mechanism that can rewire itself. Therefore it kind of connects to it and gets great results,” said Olmsted.

Connect with music to spark forgotten memories.

“Memory is, when that’s gone, you know, really. Like this morning, he was wondering who is taking care of Beth. Beth is his youngest daughter, so we’re back in years past,” said Hilda Sieler.

The sight of Ephriam falling asleep listening to songs from years ago is what his family and his caretakers hope for.

Golden Living-Bella Vista families dontated 25 MP3 players and family members have been bringing in a variety of music.