Insight News

Receiving an Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis is daunting enough, but navigating all the options for care can quickly become even more overwhelming. One option that many have never heard of? Adult Day Programs. While we might be a bit biased here at Insight, we believe that day centers and day programs can be the perfect happy medium for many families - support, engagement, and safety during the day, and the comforts of family and home in the evening. In honor of National Adult Day Services Week, here are a few reasons to consider a day program.

Adult Day Services Week is a special week that has been celebrated annually since it was proclaimed in 1983 by former President Ronald Reagan. The third complete week of September is set aside to raise awareness of the availability and accessibility of adult day programs nationwide. If you’re familiar with Insight, you might already know this, but first what are Adult Day Services?

Reconnections has partnered with local Loudoun County non-profit, By Faith Fund, several times over the past year on donation drives for needs in the community including food, toiletries, holiday items, and school supplies. Most recently participants and their families had the opportunity to participate in a school supply and backpack drive for local students as the school year begins!

Encore Creativity for Older Adults is the nation’s largest choral organization with 42 ensembles in 7 states and the District of Columbia, serving almost 1300 singers. Sentimental Journey Singers, offered at Insight - Fairfax and Insight - Sterling is a FREE program for Insight participants and care partners to participate in. Come sing, laugh, and play with us at Insight!

Insight completes an annual survey each spring, asking all of our participants, care partners, and families to provide their feedback on all of our programs. Here is what our families had to say over this past fiscal year, July 2022 to June 2023.

As we take a look back over the past year, here's a little bit about what we've been up to and what we were able to accomplish over the last year, from July 2022 to June 2023!

The Cadette and Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 53039 in Alexandria, VA recently completed a wonderful service project at the Insight Fairfax day center location. The project involved painting flowerboxes, planting flowers, and cleaning an outdoor sensory space for the participants.

When they first came to Insight, they were in search of ways to stay engaged after a new diagnosis (and extended time at home during COVID!). What they found was a supportive environment for both of them. Monica shares, “He’s very happy here. I know he is. Because he wants to come.” Hear more as Monica shares their story.

Our nursing team goes above and beyond to care for our participants everyday. Not only do they keep our participants at the day center healthy and safe, they also prioritize creating relationships with all participants and putting in the effort to ensure that each one of our participants feels welcome and valued. We are very grateful to have this compassionate and dedicated team as part of our Insight family. As we recognize National Nurse's Week, meet our fabulous nursing team!

“We have recently participated in and completed the SHARE for Dementia program. We found it to be an invaluable resource and tool to plan for and prepare ourselves and our family for the inevitable changes and issues that lie ahead. We were initially reluctant to address topics that might increase our fear of future challenges, however our counselor, Melissa Long, guided us through the SHARE platform skillfully and provided us with a level of comfort that allowed us to walk through the process with ease and a growing confidence that we were making the best possible plans for our future.”

Social workers play a variety of roles in organizations across the country. Here at Insight Memory Care Center, our social workers impact the lives of participants and families in numerous positive ways. As we celebrate National Social Work Month, we honor the critical role Insight’s social workers play in our organization and the greater community!

We are grateful to have many fabulous social workers here at Insight who contribute to the organization in a variety of ways. Whether it is connecting with participants, coordinating resources for families, engaging the community, or just being a listening ear, our social workers do extraordinary work to further our mission. As we celebrate Social Work Month, meet our social workers!

We have grown significantly since caring for our first three participants in the basement of a church, and this new center in Sterling represents the first time programs have expanded beyond shared spaces to a dedicated, second center. This new space expands our programs for those with mild cognitive impairment and early dementia and serves care partners through support groups and education programs. We able to add so much value to our programming through our wonderful partnerships.

Insight Memory Care Center celebrated a milestone event with the opening of its second location, an Early Stage Center in Sterling, Virginia, on January 5, 2022. It’s hard to believe the Sterling Early Stage Center is now one year old! Our Loudoun location offers our popular Reconnections early stage program four days a week. We also offer care partner education and support programs at this location as well, as we aim to serve the entire family through their journey.

Insight Memory Care Center celebrated a milestone event with the opening of its second location, an Early Stage Center in Sterling, Virginia, on January 5, 2022. It’s hard to believe the Sterling Early Stage Center is now one year old! Learn more about the programs we offer, partnerships that make it possible, and the first year at our Sterling Early Stage Center in Loudoun.

Insight is fortunate to have an amazing recreation staff leading participants in a variety of activities each day. Whether it’s brain fitness, a new art project, music therapy, or interacting with technologies like the multi-sensory room, the Obie, or virtual reality, our rec team provides engagement and support to participants in all stages of their dementia journey. As we celebrate Recreation Therapy Month, meet the rec team!

As our Early Stage Reconnections program has expanded to Fairfax, Sterling, and virtual options, Insight is so lucky to have an amazing team of recreation staff leading a variety of activities at each program. Whether it’s a lively discussion, cornhole trivia, an artist spotlight, or a virtual program with the Smithsonian, our rec team provides engagement for each participant based on their interests and abilities. As we celebrate Recreation Therapy month, meet the early stage team!

One of the top questions we get about our programs at Insight is “what do they do all day?” It’s a natural question, since many of us have images of seniors playing bingo all day in our heads! At Insight Memory Care Center, we work hard to ensure that participants are engaged in a wide variety of activities at all levels of our programs – which is where we depend on our fantastic recreation therapists!

Insight Memory Care Center is excited to begin a virtual reality program – the first of its kind – to boost engagement, mental wellness, and quality of life for senior participants in our adult day health center. Anita Irvin, Executive Director, shares, “We are always looking for innovative ways to engage our participants in our day programs. When we were first looking at the option of virtual reality, our staff was quickly on board when we realized all the possibilities for our participants to reminisce, connect, and engage with each other in new ways."

"My hope for Insight in the future is that we continue to serve our home base here, but at the same time expand our reach further and further," shares Rodney. "My own grandmother, she was diagnosed with dementia. She lives in North Carolina and she doesn't have stuff like this there," says Selena. Listen as staff and family members share their hopes for the future with Insight Memory Care Center.

Using our own dementia expertise and working with community partners for additional specialized topics, we're excited to continue to offer a wide variety of classes, workshops, trainings, author presentations, and even movie screenings in 2023. All of these sessions can be one more tool in your belt to being a stronger care partner!

“Stephen had undiagnosed probable Lewy Body dementia and he took cold tablets, which can set the disease process in full blown proportions. And that’s how we started with Lewy Body – jumped in with both feet,” shares Lynn, care partner for her husband. Watch their story.

Tuesday, November 29th is Giving Tuesday, a worldwide day of giving. You’ve probably heard of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday as shopping days – Giving Tuesday is day to celebrate giving! We celebrated live on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube all day – sharing resources, caregiving tips, advice, and stories. Check out the panels and presentations!

Tuesday, November 29th is Giving Tuesday, a worldwide day of giving! You’ve probably heard of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday as shopping days – Giving Tuesday is day to celebrate giving!

Insight Memory Care Center’s Excellence in Memory Care Award recognizes programs and services that are models of excellence and are positively impacting memory care in our community. This year, for our 7th annual award, we have five fantastic finalists, and the winner will be announced the evening of the event! Read more about each of our finalists.

Insight Memory Care Center is so excited to be featured with one of our partners, ShiftMed, to highlight innovative nursing solutions providing care to those living with dementia. The Today Show story takes a look at solutions brought about by the pandemic for home care and in care facilities - where we were highlighted! Watch the story to catch our Executive Director, Anita Irvin, along with Marilu Rivera (who's been with Insight for over 25 years!), and a few of our wonderful participants engaged at the center.

There’s a dance program for people with Parkinson’s that combines music, seated dance, stretch and movement. It’s called Dance for PD®. However, for all the reasons we can list why dance is beneficial to people living with Parkinson’s, it’s how people feel during the class, and by the end of it, that matters most.

Like many families, the McDonald’s first approached Insight Memory Care with trepidation. Tom and his brother had noticed some changes in their dad, Bill, that seemed beyond normal aging. After several doctors’ visits, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. On one hand it was a relief to know what was going on with their dad, but on the other, it mostly meant a whole new journey in front of them.

This year at Insight Memory Care Center, one thing we have been working on is taking a closer look at our words, starting specifically with our mission and vision statements. We spent time in this process talking with our families, staff, and board members. With their feedback, three things came up that we knew our words needed to address.

As we take a look back over the past year, here's a little bit about what we've been up to and what we were able to accomplish over the last year.

Insight completes an annual survey each May, asking all of our participants, care partners, and families to provide their feedback on all of our programs. Here is what our families had to say over this past fiscal year, July 2021 to June 2022.

After a rigorous review process, we are proud to announce our selection to the 2022-23 Catalogue for Philanthropy class of trusted local nonprofits! It’s an honor to be selected by community advocates across the region based on our impact and work.

Surely when you think of Insight, the first thing you think of is interactive gaming technology, right? Well, we are excited to add the Obie for Seniors system to our day center that uses a projector and motion sensors to turn walls, floors, and tables into interactive gaming centers!

Insight Memory Care Center celebrated a milestone event with the Grand Opening Celebration of its second location, an Early Stage Center in Sterling, Virginia. For the past 38 years, Insight has provided specialized care, support, and education for individuals in all stages of memory loss, their care partners, and the community. The organization has grown significantly since caring for the first three participants in the basement of a church, and this new center in Sterling represents the first time programs have expanded beyond partnerships and shared spaces to a dedicated, second center.

Insight Memory Care Center is excited to share that our Caregiving at a Glance Workshop was recently awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2022 Best Practices Awards from the Commonwealth Council on Aging! Established in 2006, the Best Practices Awards recognize and encourage the replication of model programs in Virginia, particularly that foster aging in place, livable communities and home and community-based services.

I arrived in Sterling all set for the first night and began greeting the five couples who would be participating as they arrived. Because five of the 10 participants had dementia, I hadn’t set huge goals for the evening, I really just wanted everyone to have fun. But as soon as the “practice round” of participants building a tower began I knew this group was special! They didn’t just stack the bricks on top of each other, some built towers to represent places they had visited in the past like the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and their first duty station in Greece.

At Insight Memory Care Center, we are so fortunate to have a fantastic team of dedicated social workers to support our families. In honor of Social Work month this March, we wanted to celebrate and share all that they do! Meet Rodney, Stephanie, Ellie, Jen, and Markita!

An initiative that begun in 2019, Dementia Friendly Fairfax brings awareness and support for those living with dementia and their care partners in Fairfax County, Virginia. Today we’re getting to know Allegra Joffe, Caregiver Specialist, Fairfax Area Agency on Aging, and Diane Watson, Mount Vernon Rep on the Fairfax Area Commission on Aging & Long Term Care Coordinating Council (LTCCC) Member contact person for the Spring Hill Community Village in Lorton, VA. They are two of Dementia Friendly Fairfax’s action team members. Robin McGlothin from Insight Memory Care Center gets the conversation going!

Over 15 years ago, Insight Memory Care Center developed a program designed for couples in the early stage of dementia find new ways to connect with each other, meet other families who are walking a similar path, focus on healthy minds and bodies, and adjust to life with a new diagnosis. The Mind & Body Workshop is often the first program families attend, many still nervous about joining a “memory loss” program. But the camaraderie of the group quickly turns anxieties into anticipation as families look forward to each next session.

After two years of navigating a global pandemic, there are few of us that fail to see the benefits of community support! Many, especially care partners, face significant need for support and a safe space to cope with caregiving, on top of the prolonged effects of today’s global climate. However, sometimes simply starting a support group is not as easy as you might think!

New Year, New Classes! Our long-standing caregiver classes have a great line-up for 2022. All sessions are free, and open to anyone interested in learning more about caring for a loved one living with dementia. Speakers include the experts at Insight, along with community professionals who can share additional expertise. We hope you'll mark your calendars to join us for any or all of this year's classes.

Insight Memory Care Center is so excited to announce the opening of Insight Memory Care Center – Sterling, our new early-stage focused center in Loudoun County, VA. Insight’s increasingly popular Reconnections early stage program was slated to start in Sterling on January 3rd, but mother nature had other ideas - bringing a lot of snow to the whole region that day! Nevertheless, the seven new participants were excited to gather later that week to kick-off the new program.

We celebrated Giving Tuesday this year by Getting Ready! We had four great panels and presentations as we shared more about getting ready for the holidays - and caregiving throughout the year! Watch and learn more about what to look for when visiting aging parents, ideas to enjoy the holiday season, and a sneak peek of our new Sterling space!

A great thanksgiving meal is always something to be thankful for, and Insight is truly thankful to be a part of the Thanksgiving Project this year! Several community based organizations came together to provide families with a freshly prepared Thanksgiving meal, refrigerated items, and non-perishable items to enjoy this Thanksgiving. Insight received 19 of these meals for families who otherwise may have had to forego a Thanksgiving celebration.

Each fall, Insight Memory Care Center honors an individual or organization that is making a positive impact on memory care in our community. We are proud to announce that the winner of this year’s award is R. Scott Turner, MD, PhD!

We are very excited to share that earlier this month, Insight Memory Care Center acquired a lease for new space in Loudoun County! We will be opening a smaller, early-stage focused center in Sterling, VA. Right now, we're getting things cleaned up, adding fresh paint, bringing in furniture, and generally getting everything ready to welcome you into our new space!

Each year at our Paintings & Pairings event, Insight honors an individual or organization that is making a positive impact on memory care in our community. Now in it's 6th year, we've had many exemplary nominees - and winners! And this year's nominees are no different.

It's here! The Paintings & Pairings virtual auction opens today, and runs through Friday, October 15th at 1:00 pm. Take advantage of the Buy It Now option to snatch up vacation homes, holiday gifts, and many returning favorite items!

Lewy body dementia is the second most common type of dementia, with an estimated 1.4 million Americans diagnosed. In honor of Lewy Body Dementia Awareness Month, we've put together a few resources, both at Insight and in the wider community that may benefit your family.

Receiving an Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis is daunting enough, but navigating all the options for care can quickly become even more overwhelming. One option that many have never heard of? Adult Day Programs. While we might be a bit biased here at Insight, we believe that day centers and day programs can be the perfect happy medium for many families - support, engagement, and safety during the day, and the comforts of family and home in the evening. In honor of National Adult Day Services Week, here are a few reasons to consider a day program.