Page 74 - BusinessWest May 1, 2023

her colleagues, takes them to every cor- ner of Springfield. And while she is help- ing seniors and caregivers with a wide variety of issues from substance abuse to falls to depression, much of her work involves those with memory issues.
And, increasingly, it involves what is known as habilitation therapy (HT), a holistic approach to dementia care that focuses on the abilities that the person still has, rather than what they have lost, and can reduce difficult symptoms.
“It focuses on everything positive — it focuses on people’s strengths, not their weaknesses,” she said of HT, adding that it brings caregivers and patients closer together as they work on daily tasks, makes those suffering from dementia feel respected and valued, reduces stress among caregivers, and creates positive emotional experiences that bring com- fort and happiness.
Cardillo was recognized by Busi- nessWest and its sister publication, HCN, with a Healthcare Heroes Award in 2021 in the category of Community Health for her work during her years
as executive director at Armbrook Village in Westfield to create ‘dementia-friendly’ communities and help others better understand — and communicate with — those suffering from memory loss.
For this HCN Monthly Feature and its focus on Memory Care, we talked with her at length about the importance of understanding what is reality that for those with dementia — and enabling them to thrive, as much as possible, in that reality.
Reality Check
Cardillo told BusinessWest that, years ago, she and others involved with providing memory-care services would offer to those
“The reality therapy is for us to learn to live in their reality, not for them to live in our reality of our world. That’s probably the biggest lesson there is.”
llo has made into a career, or at the least the latter stages of one. Her latest move comes as a part-time social worker for a unique
program called Baystate House Calls. As that name suggests, it’s
a program operated by Baystate Health that involves healthcare professionals making house calls to older adults. It includes a physi- cian, nurse practitioner, nurse, social worker, and community health worker, team members who will visit individuals in their home to assess their needs and provide recommendations.
The initiative concentrates on what administrators call the 4Ms — ‘mobility,’ ‘what matters,’ ‘medication,’ and ‘mind.’
It focuses not only on those in need of help and services, but caregivers as well, said Cardillo, adding that her work, and that of
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