4TH ANNUAL MAUDE'S AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED TODAY

SEATTLE, Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 4^TH Annual Maude's Award Recipients are announced today, honoring three organizations with $25,000 and five Individuals with $5,000 each. Maude's Awards was created in 2019 by Richard Ferry (Cofounder: Korn-Ferry) in honor of his beloved wife of 65 years. In 2013, Maude was diagnosed with dementia. Richard continues the journey to discover and share innovations addressing challenges of persons living with dementia and their care partners. More information here: The Awards – Maude's Awards (maudesawards.org)

ORGANIZATIONS

• Concerts in Motion – Person-Centered Trauma-Informed Care Concerts (PCTIC)

Concerts in Motion (CiM) offered through PCTIC is a non-profit organization helping relieve social isolation and improving quality of life through free personalized concerts. Musicians are diverse, world class professionals or students who are fluent in 16 genres and 19 languages, meeting audience requests with a high degree of specificity.

• Hospice Savannah's Edel Caregiver Institute

The Edel Caregiver Institute (ECI), part of Hospice Savannah, offers services designed specifically for non-paid, non-prepared family caregivers. Hospice Savannah has grown in response to community needs, now offering home-based and inpatient hospice care, grief counseling, palliative care, volunteer companions for those living with serious illnesses, and their caregivers.

• Methow at Home – MAH Dementia Care Support

Methow at Home (MAH) is a non-profit membership organization supporting local seniors with volunteer services and education to age in place with dignity and grace. The MAH vision is to live in a vibrant, inclusive, multi-generational community where elders are honored, appreciated, and connected through member services (volunteers), preparedness and planning, education, and empowerment.

INDIVIDUALS

• Donna Newman-Bluestein - Dedham, MA

As a dance/movement therapist, Donna's programs focus exclusively on older adults and people with dementia. She started Dance for Connection, a one-hour dance program leading to greater vitality, sense of belonging and esteem. She leads two trainings for care partners to bring dance to the people they care for, and better understand how nonverbal communication affects them.

• Lisa Sommers – Healing Harmonies – Greenfield, MA

As a speech-language pathologist (SLP), Lisa helps run Healing Harmonies choir, which demonstrates the benefits for breathing, speech and voice skills, language, cognition, mood, and social engagement. The power of music for people with dementia is a vehicle for deep human connection, with a bridge to more successful verbal and nonverbal communication.

• Loretta Veney – Loretta Veney Inspires Memories Using LEGO Serious Play – Clinton, MD

As a caregiver for her mom, LEGO bricks were an important activity. Loretta uses the bricks to bring joy to people with dementia, their care partners, adult day programs and memory care communities. Memories are inspired using LEGO Serious Play! Activities include building and sharing LEGO models, which reduces anxiety, increases focus, delivers joy, and FUN. It helps builds new memories and uncovers old ones.

• Dan Cohen – Right to Music – Mineola, NY

Dan volunteered to reconnect people in Nursing and Assisted Living facilities with their favorite music. Music is the most researched and effective non-pharmacological approach to improving quality of life for persons with dementia. Right to Music was introduced in 2019 to connect typically siloed individuals and organizations enthused about music and health.

• Valerie Tsosie, President, So' Tsoh Foundation (Navajo Nation) – Window Rock, AZ 

The "So' Tsoh Foundation is a non-profit organization creating pathways to better health by offering innovative solutions for caregivers for behavioral and physical wellness, and quality care to the caregiver and their families. The Foundation offers comprehensive programs, specialty services, resources, and support utilizing an integrated Diné approach that takes into consideration the body, mind, and spirit connection.

The Handbook of Innovations will be available in November, found here: https://maudesawards.org/innovation-book/

Media Contact: Julie Furlong, 206.850.9448, [email protected]

SOURCE Maude's Awards