Nursing home residents hoping to keep music therapy program alive

Samaritan Place is alive with the sound of music.

Elderly Saskatoon residents living at the nursing home get a bouquet of rainbows and sunshine every day, hearing classics like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “You are my Sunshine” thanks to music therapist Alanna Barr.

“We use music to help development, to help well-being (and) to help overall emotional wellness,” Barr said, adding it can be done in both an emotional and spiritual way.

“Music is a medium, especially at this age, because the brain is kind of wired through music. So even when disease such as Alzheimer’s take over, there’s actually research that music stays.”

Samaritan Place is hoping to keep the music alive with its “Don’t Stop the Music” fundraiser pic.twitter.com/4y4UmO7rzN

— Mia Holowaychuk (@miaholoway) May 8, 2023

Barr said music therapy creates a sense of community and brings together residents with different cognitive and physical abilities.

“Some of the obvious things that music therapy can bring is that joy (and) that reminiscence. Those memories come flooding back from their childhood (and) important milestones in their lives,” Barr explained.

She adds it’s also important to foster a space for residents to express themselves creatively, especially for those with a musical past, but have lost that ability due to disease or aging.

It also helps residents who are experiencing feelings of isolation, loneliness and agitation.

Barr said residents request anything from Johnny Cash to the Sound of Music, and she makes an effort to learn new suggestions from residents.

“I want to make it as much of a personal experience as I can,” she said.

For residents like Barbara Bates, music therapy is more than just singing along. She said being in the room feels like being at home with family.

“It’s good for everybody, it makes you feel good inside, and everybody is all together,” Bates explained.

But music therapy isn’t funded by the province, Barr explained, meaning her position at Samaritan Place is solely based on donations and grants from the community, many of which come from families.

Currently, the nursing home has created a “Don’t Stop the Music Fundraiser” in hopes of raising $150,000 to keep the music therapy role for the next three years.

“I can just see that this is very life-giving for our residents here. I think it would be a big loss for them,” she said about the thought of her position coming to an end.

So far, the fundraiser has raised around $35,000, allowing Barr to stay at Samaritan Place until the end of the year.

More information on the fundraiser can be found on the Samaritan Place website.