OPTIMA 2014: Morning pledge [VIDEO]

[Editor's Note: This article is part of the coverage of the 2014 Long-Term Living OPTIMA Award winner. Read part 1 here.]

Reciting the pledge of allegiance, singing patriotic songs and discussing the day’s events are part of the morning gathering at The Atrium at Drum Hill, a memory care community in North Chelmsford, Mass. Drum Hill is part of Benchmark Senior Living, which has dementia care programming that is the recipient of the 2014 Long-Term Living OPTIMA Award.

The gathering is held early each day because the residents, all of whom have been diagnosed with some level of dementia, are more focused and social right after breakfast, explains Margaret Kargbo, one of Drum Hill’s resident care associates.

In the video below, Kargbo asks Bob, a resident and former Navy veteran, to lead the group in the morning’s pledge of allegiance.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.