I'm Still Here: Lost and Found in the Alzheimer's Forest. This item is unavailable.I'm Still Here: Lost and Found in the Alzheimer's Forest

Mindful Dementia Care is a book of stories and a book of love.It is a book without denial, without any papering over ofthe challenges that can be involved with being a caregiver, and thesadness, anger, and frustration they may bring. It is also a life-changingsource of information that can revolutionize relationships with oneof the most vulnerable populations in our midst. In her decades as acaregiver, Ruth Dennis witnessed the tragic results of the medicalizedand institutionalized way of caring for people with dementia. Andequally clearly, she saw a better way.Mindful Dementia Care illustrates alternative methods for makinga difference and achieving results through care that honors the wholeperson. The key is creating an environment with countless enrichingtouchstones to the inner person through facilities that are filled withart, animal companions, music, dance, books, laughter, and wholesomefood. It is an approach that embraces creative and artistic processes toshape a more loving, spiritual approach for elders and their families.

Ruth Dennis is Social Services Director and Recreational Director at the Sierra Vista assisted living community in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been a leader in the national movement toward de-institutionalized facilities for people with dementia that offer an "intentional" approach based on non-traditional services that honors the whole person. Her background includes more than 25 years of experience in mental health, the arts, and community education, serving, among others, gifted and at-risk children, the homeless, and the mentally ill and developmentally disabled.