Music & Memory Surpasses Certification Milestone with 2,000+ Care Organizations

New York, NY: 2015 is proving to be another momentous year for MUSIC & MEMORY - the nonprofit organization that trains nursing homes and other organizations to improve quality of life for the elders they serve using donated iPods and personalized playlists.

It all began with a simple idea. Dan Cohen, founder of Music & Memory, wanted to be able to listen to his favorite '60s music if he should ever enter a nursing home. After hearing about the ubiquity of iPods and doing some research on elder care, Cohen discovered that none of the 16,000 long-term care facilities in the U.S. offered iPods for their residents. He took it upon himself to fill this void - one organization at a time - by creating the MUSIC & MEMORY Certification Program to bring personalized music to those suffering regardless of cognitive or physical decline.

From these humble beginnings, the Music & Memory program has since been implemented in over 2,000+ certified facilities in all 50 US states, as well as eight countries, including Canada, Australia, England, Denmark, Holland, South Africa, and Israel. Ten US States (Wisconsin, Ohio, Utah, Vermont, New Mexico, Missouri, Texas, California, West Virginia, and Illinois) have also rolled out initiatives to implement the program statewide and make it the standard of care. Wisconsin and Utah are the first states to fund every nursing home in their state.

Music has been found to be a viable substitute for antipsychotic medications in any setting, whether at home or in long-term care. We're finding that there's greater success when people already have their personalized playlist together before they enter a heath care facility, because the most we know about what they truly love, the easier it will be to provide and thus increase quality of life.

http://www.musicandmemory.org/