Memory Care HERstory

Kimberly Becton, Memory Care Director

My name is Kimberly Becton, and I’m the memory care director at Hudson Grande Senior Living. In honor of Women’s History Month, I want to take a moment to celebrate Cathy, one of our neighborhood residents! 

Cathy B. is a female resident in our neighborhood whose history and story is very interesting. Cathy enjoyed music from a young age. She played the flute in various orchestras throughout her career, some internationally known. In the 1980s, Cathy became an Associate Professor within the Music Conservatory at Oberlin College before earning her Ph.D. in Psychology from Kent State University and moving into private practice. Cathy stayed involved with her local community, spending years devoting time to a local Rotary Club.

I feel it is important to honor the stories and history of individuals with dementia, because every individual has a story and an important life lived. These individuals often struggle to express the wisdom they’ve compiled over their lifetime, and deserve the help Hudson Grande has to offer. I think about the things that we have missed out on hearing and learning due to a disease that no one has the ability to control. Fostering and maintaining meaningful relationships with the families of our residents is crucial to ensuring their loved ones have a lasting impact on not only their families, but other residents, staff, and even the local community.

In the Hudson Grande Neighborhood, we connect individuals living with dementia to their personal history by connecting the skills they learned and mastered in their lifetimes with enriching activities within the neighborhood. This has proven successful in creating a positive atmosphere. We want to make certain that we cherish the knowledge they have compiled and highlight constructive and beneficial behavior in hopes that we are able to provide therapeutic input.

For more HERstories, check out these recent episodes of Arrow Nicely News!