Alive Inside Page #4

Transformed the

Human environment.

Our safety, no longer tied

To the home, or the village,

Became tied to something else.

We became urban and the

Traditional family structures

Began to feel pressure

And weaken.

As a consequence, by

The late 1800s, elders, in

Alarming numbers,

Were ending their days in the

Poorhouse, alongside the

Insane and the homeless.

This social security measure

Gives at least some protection

To 30 millions of our citizens

Who will reap

Direct benefits through

Old-Age pensions...

There was a real

Awareness that older people

In America were sick and poor,

And a decision was made to

Support them, not through the

Welfare system, but through the

Healthcare system.

And so, what we had was this

Incredible shotgun marriage of

The poorhouse and the hospital

And that's what

Nursing homes became.

A new industry was born.

This business exploded after

The Medicaid act of 1965.

The idea of taking

Care of elders on a mass scale

Was something new

In human history, and it was

Bound to run into problems.

Early on, there were accusations

Of "warehousing" elders,

Overusing physical restraints,

And even when reformers

Challenged that practice and

Reduced it, a new problem came

Up... The overuse of

Anti-Psychotic drugs.

These drugs aren't designed

For use with elders, and yet

They're being massively

Overused in nursing homes.

Give me a kiss right here.

Kiss me.

Thank you.

American

Nursing homes actually have

Some of the best people in our

Nation, some of the biggest

Hearts, most generous spirit,

The greatest joy and laughter.

I love these people.

However, they go to work

Every day inside an institution

That defines people in terms of

Their diagnoses and

Their disabilities

And thinks of them as patients

First, human beings second.

He doesn't really

Initiate conversation.

He just kind of... exists.

Does he already have music in

His room?

Does he have a radio?

I don't think he has a radio

In his room, no.

He has dementia?

Mm-Hmm.

He has dementia.

Johnny, can you tell

Us, who's this guy?

Who's that guy?

Is that you, when you were in

The navy?

Is that me?

Do I look like that?

Yeah, that's you.

That's not too bad!

A couple of years and

A lot of Tommy Dorsey, big band?

All of this stuff, let me sort

It out.

Frank Sinatra...

How about this one?

We tried to learn john's

Story.

Who's that guy?

Is that the same guy?

To help us find his deepest

Music.

I got more muscles.

But how do you do this for

Someone like john?

All right, what about this?

We were told a few things.

He played baseball.

Oh!

He'd been drafted and served

At Los Alamos.

It was there that the army

Gave him shots for

Radiation poisoning...

Shots that caused all his hair

To fall out.

Lastly, after the war, he

Performed in Philadelphia under

The stage name Larry Stewart,

But we couldn't learn this from

John.

The sensory record...

The movie that played only in

John's mind, called memory...

Is gone.

His love, his dreams...

gone.

Who are we without our memory?

Oh Johnny, oh Johnny

It's "oh Johnny oh."

How perfect!

Oh Johnny, oh Johnny

how you can love

oh Johnny, oh Johnny

heavens above

you make my sad heart jump

With joy

and when you're near I just

Can't sit still a minute

I'm so

oh Johnny, oh Johnny

please tell me, dear

what makes me love you so

you're not handsome,

It's true

but when I look at you,

I just, oh, Johnny

oh Johnny, oh

da-Da-Da-Da-Da

There was no way we could

Have known there was this much

Life inside of john.

Some enchanted evening,

You may see someone

you may see a stranger

I wish I had a voice like

Him.

For Johnny, getting his

Music, and a little focused

Attention...

you're quite the singer.

Was all it took to awaken

Feelings he hadn't felt in

Years.

I love to do it.

When did you first

Sing?

When you were young, did you

Sing?

I don't know.

I'm just a small guy.

Yeah?

I'm crying.

Why? Are you sad?

I don't know.

I love everybody around here.

My gang... This is my gang.

This is your gang?

Yeah?

Does it make you happy to sing

For us?

Yeah.

Half the people in

Nursing homes get no visitors,

So it's not like

Family can do it.

The nursing homes don't really

Have a ready budget for this.

The government does not

Reimburse for music, and iPods,

So it really needs to come from

Somewhere.

So my ultimate goal is to make

This a standard of care

In all 16,000 nursing homes in

The country.

That's the goal.

It depends on the

Nursing home.

It depends on how proactive the

Volunteer department is.

Is this something you'd

Want to explore for your own

Facilities?

Well, I have

Several concerns.

That you give it to 2 people

And 10 people are going

To want it and I'm not going to

Be able to give it to them.

Frankly, how

It's administered.

This is a very

Big place.

We have 600 residents here.

Cost is also a significant

Factor that we have to consider

In every program.

So tell me, how can

I help you today?

I'm looking for a donation.

Sir, one second here.

The research shows it,

Our experience shows it...

There is no doubt that

Mainstreaming the use of

Personalized music,

Using iPods...

I spoke to the senior vice

President and they... They have

A no corporate philanthropy

Policy.

There are 16,000 nursing homes

In the united states, and the

Challenge is getting it out

There, and we could really use

Your help.

Sandra day O'Connor

Talked to him about your project?

No, about Alzheimer's,

Support of the Alzheimer's

Association.

Support for Alzheimer's.

She talked to

The man himself.

Yeah.

And he said no?

Yeah.

So, what luck am I going

To have?

How's the work going?

It's a struggle.

It's a struggle.

I have to tell you,

I am one of the few people who

Actually knows how

You feel about this.

Because a couple of decades ago,

I got really charged up by this

Idea that we could bring

Plants and animals and children

Into the lives of elders.

I had the same kind of

Experiences that you've

Described, where I could

See people come alive.

We had this dream that we'd

Just go door to door, but we

Couldn't penetrate, sort of, the

Fog of the nursing home.

What you're doing is outside of

Conventional practice and you

Have to... And if you're

Going to be successful going

Forward, you have to understand

How big a barrier that is.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Please find your seats.

We went looking for

Answers.

It turns out we are not alone.

There are lots of people who

Believe there's something

Fundamentally wrong with the

American nursing home.

I think we are part

Of a movement that is much,

Much, bigger.

I want to work on culture

Change.

I want to support culture

Change as a national priority.

Hi, bonnie.

Hi, Dan. What's up?

How are you?

We value independence and

Have the hardest time,

I believe, of any country with

The concept of dependence.

And so, whereas other folks have

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