Everything Elderly is on Saturday mornings at 8:30, on 1290 AM WLBY, sponsored by Senior Helpers. This past holiday weekend, we aired an encore program with guests from Heartland Home Health Care and Hospice and the Aphasia Community Friendship Center.

Norma Nichols was on the program on May 15 this year. Norma is a board-certified music therapist with Heartland Home Health Care and Hospice. Norma uses music to help people feel better and improve their lives. She helps those experiencing anxiety, depression, and especially those for whom music has played a significant role in their lives.

Norma plays whatever music her patients want to hear, whatever they can really relate to — that makes it much more therapeutic.

She very much encourages her patients to actively participate in the music making. Norma played her guitar and sang for us! To hear this wonderful two-minute song click the audio link below:

Most people relate hospice to death. Norma stated, “Hospice has gotten a bad rap.” In reality, hospice helps people remain actively living until they stop breathing. It’s about making the patient comfortable and happy — not about waiting to die.

Norma played a recording of her music with a bed-bound mid-80s patient. It’s very clear that her patients really benefit from this therapy.

To contact Norma or Heartland Home Health Care and Hospice, please call 734-677-8141. The website is hcr-manorcare.com. To listen to the beautiful songs and the full 12-minute segment click the audio link below:

We next featured our talk with Lynn Chenoweth from the Aphasia Community Friendship Center, back from June 19 this year. Lynn is the founder and executive director of the center. Aphasia (uh-fay’-zhuh) is a communication disorder, when a person has trouble accessing the language part of the brain. Those with aphasia may have difficulty speaking, reading and understanding what they hear. They may not be able to recall specific words they want to use, like accessing the word “pen” when trying to describe that specific object. Importantly, aphasia is not a loss of intelligence, although it may be perceived as such.

The Aphasia Community Friendship Center is one of only 12 such centers in the country. It’s not a therapy center; it’s a place to talk and practice, a comfortable place to engage in normal conversation with supportive friends. All staff at the center, including Lynn, are volunteers. The nonprofit center is supported by private donations, and there is a nominal $5 charge per visit. Most of the visitors have had strokes, where the communication-related area of their brain has been damaged. Visitors become participants right away, and “care partners” are also welcome to come and participate.

Folks are always welcome to visit the center, which is located in the Hawthorn Suites near Plymouth Road and US-23. The center is open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To get in touch with Lynn or the aphasia center, please call 734-429-5679, and you can visit their website aphasiacentermi.org. To listen to the full 13-minute talk, click the audio link below:

Alan Caldwell is the owner of Senior Helpers, providing in-home care services, primarily to the elderly. He can be contacted at acaldwell@seniorhelpers.com, or at 734-927-3111.