Grant money available for nursing home for personalized music programs
The creators of an innovative music therapy program have announced the establishment of a grant-matching program for long-term care facilities interested in starting their own music personalization projects.
“Well-Tuned: Music Players for Health Programs” — a collaborative program between the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and Music & Memory — has over a dozen $3,500 grants available for nursing homes and assisted‐living communities that can contribute $2,500 to Well-Tuned. The matching grant lets recipients receive 50 resident iPods, headphones, AC adapters, $500 in iTunes gift cards, plus training and support for one year.
Priority will be given to those applicants who include a plan to make personalized music available to all residents within 12-18 months of grant award. The resources for this program expansion can come from used and new iPod donations from the community.
Dan Cohen, the executive director of Music & Memory, and managing director of Well-Tuned, started the program after conducting his own experiment to see if familiar songs could have a therapeutic effect on memory care residents. Cohen worked one-on-one with residents — often consulting their family and friends — to create an iPod playlist with 50 to 100 of that person's favorite songs. Motivated by the results, Cohen began developing a pilot project to do this on a broader scale.
