Nazareth Home, 2000 Newburg Road, will welcome Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz to its campus Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. The archbishop will bless the nursing home’s new Namaste Room, a space that will house the home’s Namaste Care program for residents with dementia.
A news release from Nazareth Home explained that “namaste” is a Hindu term meaning “to honor the spirit within and was selected to describe a program that brings honor to people who can no longer tell us who they are or who they were or care for themselves without assistance.”
The program, funded by a grant from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, is designed to improve the quality of life for dementia patients by providing a comforting environment and soothing activities that “bring pleasure when done with a loving touch,” the release said. For example, residents may receive hand and foot massages, have their hair brushed with slow movements or receive an “old fashioned” shave.
A reception with the members of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth community will follow the blessing.
I am so excited to hear about this. I invited Joyce Symard, author and founder of the Namaste program to give a presentation a year or so ago at the Jewish Community Center that was sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Ass. and she was kind enough to do it for free. I have been advocating for this kind of care for years after watching my mother suffer with dementia and spend the last eight years of her life in a nursing home. Her quality of life would have been markedly better had this wonderful program been in place. I commend Nazarath Home for implementing this program and showing that they are truly committed to making the lives of their dementia residents as comfortable and happy as possible.No wonder you’re the top nursing home in Louisville. Congratulations!!! Carol McIntyre