Insight News

On Thursday, July 18th, Insight Memory Care Center held a community celebration in honor of our 40th Anniversary. We welcomed friends new and old to visit the center, enjoy food and drinks, and most of all, share in the memories and impact Insight has had in the Fairfax community over the last four decades.

Insight is excited to offer a new training opportunity focused on creating a dementia capable society! Dementia Capable Care (DCC) Training gives you the tools needed to be the best caregiver for those living at different stages of dementia. This training focuses on practical solutions to preventing and de-escalating behaviors, through online learning and an in-person session to address common scenarios.

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 2023 to June 2024!

Deborah Aquino is our "We Care" Employee of the Year! She has been with Insight for just over a year, and she has already made a huge impact for our Day Center participants. As a Recreation Coordinator, she works each day with participants in our Blue, Orange, and Coral groups to provide engagement, purpose - and fun!

Melissa Long, our Director of Education and Support, was honored with a 2024 Equality Loudoun Pride Award for mission in service to the queer community and the Loudoun community! Melissa has made it her mission to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community of Northern Virginia who are living with dementia. Her work aims to ensure that everyone with dementia feels comfortable seeking the resources they need to care for their loved ones safely and free from judgement. Congratulations, Melissa!

The opportunity to become a caregiver for a loved one can bring you closer and come with many positive experiences. However, it can also be challenging and overwhelming! You have to deal with everything from how to switch a reversed sleep schedule to finding meaningful activities to fill the day. In honor of Insight's 40th anniversary here are 40 top tips from our Caregiving at a Glance Guide - one for each year of Insight!

We are grateful to have many talented social workers here at Insight who contribute to the organization in numerous positive ways and bring their social work mindset to each new or challenging situation. Whether it is connecting personally with participants, coordinating resources for families, engaging with the larger community, helping keep things going behind the scenes, or just being a listening ear, our social workers do extraordinary work to further our mission. As we celebrate Social Work Month - get to know a few of our social workers!

Research shows that the areas of the brain that control memory and skills such as planning and organizing improve with exercise. Dance has the added dimensions of rhythm, balance and music that enhance the benefits of simple movement. “Dance for Brain Health Classes” have started at the Workhouse Arts Center, Art of Movement in Lorton, and are beneficial for anyone experiencing cognitive decline as well as those interested in prevention!

Insight Memory Care Center may be celebrating our 40th this year, but we also have another milestone anniversary on the horizon. This spring marks the 10th Anniversary of our Early Stage Reconnections program! We are so grateful that Reconnections has grown so much over the past 10 years, serving hundreds of individuals over its history.

Our Early Stage Reconnections program builds community in Fairfax, Sterling, Alexandria, and online; 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 reminiscence discussion, cornhole trivia, or an artist spotlight, 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!

Insight is fortunate to have 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, learn more about our day center recreation team and hear what they admire about each other!

We know that balance and strength training can decrease fall risk in older adults. Insight staff members have recently been trained in the Otago Exercise Program, a balance and strength training program which, if performed consistently, has been shown to decrease fall risk in older adults of 35 to 40 percent!

We are excited to announce that this year is our 40th anniversary! This incredible milestone marks four decades of unwavering commitment to providing quality dementia-specific care, support, and education in the Northern Virginia community. Here's a sneak peek at what's in store!

Each year, Insight offers hundreds (yes hundreds!) of specialized classes for care partners to build their skills and confidence while learning more about new topics, services, and dementia resources in the community. 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 2024. All of these sessions can be one more tool in your belt to being a stronger care partner! Check our full event calendar to see what's coming up!

“I did a lot of interaction in my previous life, and I just like being around people. And when I wasn't doing that, it just depressed me,” shares Rick, a participant in our early stage Reconnections program. Lindsey Vajpeyi, Director of Early Stage Programs, elaborates, "At Insight, people find a community. They find others who are going through something like they are and really get it." Watch their stories.

Tuesday, November 28th was 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! But it's not just a day for us to ask for your support - we wanted to give back too! We had a great time celebrating on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube - sharing resources, caregiving tips, advice, and stories.

"Insight is not your typical place. You know, at Insight, they treat the individual as an individual," shares Mary, care partner for her husband. Hear more as Mary shares their story.

Insight Memory Care Center is pleased to recognize and thank The Providence Fairfax for supporting Insight’s care, support, and education for individuals and families living with memory impairment with a donation of $10,000 to start off the holiday season!

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. Congratulations to our 2023 winner, Annie Rhodes and the Virginia Memory Project team! We sincerely thank you for your impact on memory care across all of Virginia! Read on to learn more about the work of the Virginia Memory Project.

FAIRFAX, Va. (7News) — A Fairfax County non-profit that’s called a lifeline for families and patients with memory-robbing dementia held a gala fundraiser Friday night. The dictionary defines insight as a clear perception. But for these folks, insight is a very real, very tangible place. Insight Memory Care Center offers help for both the patient and the family on a journey that rarely has a happy ending. "There is nothing more gratifying than working for an organization that can create those quality moments for such an insidious disease," Anita Irwin...

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. The 8th Annual Award will be presented at the event on October 20th. This year we have three fantastic finalists. The winner will be announced the evening of the event. Learn more about our finalists and the impactful work they are doing!

We are excited to share that Jennifer Denk, our Director of Community Engagement, has been appointed the Fairfax Village in the City Advisory Board, where she will serve as a subject matter expert on dementia! The Advisory Board is composed of 9 to 15 city residents representing key stakeholder groups; Jen will be able to share dementia expertise and bring awareness for those living with dementia looking to age in place in their Fairfax City community.

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.