Iowa City program aims to spark long-term memory of those with dementia

IOWA CITY — Inside the Emerson Point assisted living facility in Iowa City, about a dozen tenants gather in a common room to talk about the country of Ireland.

It's a Friday morning.

They exchange stories about their trips to the Emerald Isle or family origins from the country, sharing experiences and asking questions — as well as connecting with one another, a goal program leader Stacey McKim is striving to reach.

McKim, volunteer and outreach assistant for the Iowa City Public Library has been presenting Tales and Travel Memories, a library program that aims to create conversation and connections among Iowa City residents by talking about various places around the world, since 2015.

Friday's event at Emerson Point is one of more than 30 programs that have been held over the last year and a half in 10 different Iowa City facilities for more than 160 attendees, said Patty McCarthy, development director at the library.

Erin Moore, activities coordinator at Emerson Point, said the monthly program offers 'a wonderful social opportunity' for tenants.

Not only that, but it's also helping participants jog old memories, Moore said.

McKim said the program was designed for individuals with dementia to help them access long-term memories.

'It was designed, really, so that anybody can participate and it would try to access earlier memories from childhood and from traveling as a young adult, which are easier for someone with dementia to access,' McKim said.

Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities 'severe enough to interfere with daily life,' according to the Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for between 60 to 80 percent of cases.

Although designed for individuals with dementia, McKim said the Iowa City library's program is open to everyone.

'People who are older or who have mobility issues or brain issues, we just see them as an underserved group,' McKim said. 'They might not use the library in the way they used to or use the library at all, and this is a chance for us to branch out.'

During a Tales and Travel Memories program, McKim uses kits filled with, among other things, several books to encourage a conversation among tenants.

'We're just there to do whatever we can to get people interacting and to get people connected,' she said.

The library has kits on Iowa, Germany and the tropics, as well as Ireland. McKim is currently building another kit on Australia and New Zealand.

McKim said the success she sees from the program is qualitative — seeing someone light up, or seeing someone participate who doesn't normally speak.

'It's so interesting,' said Millie Malan, 92, whose father immigrated to the United States from Ireland. 'I wish I had known all of this beforehand.'

McCarthy said most of the funding for the program came through grants totaling about $1,000 from the Pilot Club of Iowa City, which have been given to the library since 2014.

McKim said managing the program has made conversations in her personal life successful.

'I also was glad I had done some reading about dementia and this kind of interaction before my grandma was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment,' McKim said.

She said she hopes to build sensory kits that focus on experiences like going to the beach, a baseball game and the Iowa State Fair.

l Comments: (319) 368-8536; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com

Learn More: For those interested in learning more about Tales and Travel Memories, or how to bring it to their facility, send email to Stacey McKim, volunteer and outreach assistant for the Iowa City Public Library, at Stacey-McKim@icpl.org. To learn more about other Iowa City Public Library programs and events, visit icpl.org.