Life Stories Connect Care Partners with the Person Behind the Diagnosis

About Juliet Holt Klinger

Senior Director of Dementia Care

Juliet is a passionate advocate for people living with dementia and their families. She is deeply committed to improving the cultural acceptance of those with cognitive differences. As our gerontologist and Senior Director of Dementia Care, Juliet develops person-centered care and programming for Brookdale’s dementia care communities. But if you ask her, Juliet says she continues to learn every day from the true experts, those living with dementia and their care partners. Juliet believes we need to move beyond the concept of caregiving, which implies a one-sided relationship, and embrace the idea of care partnering. Care partnering is about relationships built on cooperation—a two-way street promoting person-centered care and mutual feelings of purpose, where the person living with dementia also plays a strong role in shaping their care and daily routine. We are here to partner, learn and grow with our residents and families to make aging a better experience. After volunteering in nursing homes in high school, Juliet knew she wanted to work with older adults. While working on her bachelor’s degree in social work at the University of Iowa, she completed an Aging Studies Certificate program, before there were formal gerontology programs available. At Iowa, Juliet also had the chance to study with pioneers in the field of dementia care, an opportunity that shaped her passion for caring for those living with dementia. Trained as a gerontologist, with a master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado, Juliet joined Brookdale in 2004. She is a seasoned senior living executive with more than 30 years of experience designing and executing innovative Alzheimer's and dementia care programs and living environments in both assisted living and skilled settings.

There’s a contagious energy you absorb from being around trailblazers and I’m feeling remarkably energized after attending the Pioneering a New Culture in Aging Conference, the annual conference of the Pioneer Network which was held in Denver, Colorado, this week. I am honored to be a new board member of the organization, which is dedicated to changing society’s attitudes toward aging and elder care. This mission is dear to my heart and very aligned with my work here at Brookdale. What a week! It was a truly inspiring experience to be surrounded by so many passionate people who are committed to changing the cultural perception of aging.

I was so pleased to be able to provide two sessions at this year’s conference. One intensive on Creating Person Centered Life in Assisted Living, and then I also joined Jay Newton-Small, the CEO and founder of MemoryWell, to present a session on how life story telling can improve care and create connections for those living with dementia.

Together we outlined what is, perhaps the most vitally, important tool in the provision of person-centered care. Earlier this year, the Alzheimer’s Association announced its Dementia Care Practice Recommendations, which focus on person-centered care and the importance of life stories. Knowing the person and honoring the individual and their unique history, talents and passions allows us to offer meaningful programming that supports the identity of each resident.

Everyone has a story to tell, but not everyone can tell it.

Research published in the journal Aging & Mental Health points to how life stories allow care partners to see the person behind the diagnosis. They enable the voice of the person living with dementia to be heard and encourage the details about the life they’ve lived to be well-known. When care partners know the life story of a person living with dementia, they can make deeper connections and form more meaningful relationships.

Without a well-known life story, a person living with dementia can feel like they don’t belong and can lack a sense of purpose or connection to the community that surrounds them. If a person’s routines, habits, preferences and personal styles are not followed they may not be receptive to assistance and support with care.

Life stories are the most powerful tool we have for providing person-centered programming.

They allow care partners to integrate a person’s history, skills, and interests into engagement opportunities. Knowing the person and the details of their life gives us the tools we need to truly care partner with them, and can help us to provide purposeful engagement. It also helps us understand their family systems, and how to anticipate unmet needs in order to problem solve behavioral expressions.

Brookdale developed a great tool to help person’s living with dementia to begin the process of sharing their life story with care partners. An Inspired Life: A Journal Helping Me Live Well with Dementia is designed for people living with dementia to put their feelings on paper so care providers and family members can have an open and honest conversation about what is important to provide from the person’s own perspective as the disease progresses. If you are living with dementia, or are caring for a loved one who is, download An Inspired Life: A Journal for Helping Me Live Well with Dementia. This valuable resource can help you have an honest and open conversation about the important things that make you uniquely you!

Brookdale’s person-centered care focuses on sustaining individual interests, skills and talents to give meaning to each person’s life. Our care strategy is based around honoring a person’s life story, so we can truly KNOW them. That’s the way we provide a culture of caring and programming that puts the person living with dementia at the center of everything we do. We believe that the person you are before the diagnosis of dementia is the person you deserve to be after.