Skip to main content

Masthead

  • Member Login
  • Join Mass Senior Care
  • Contact
  • Search
    Advanced Search

Main navigation

  • About Us
    • Learn More About MSCA
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff Directory
    • Newsroom
      • Mass Senior Care Press Releases
      • Mass Senior Care in the News
  • Education & Events
    • Webinars / Education Programs
    • Education and Seminar Policies and Procedures
    • 2025 Leadership Conference - Attendee Registration & Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Save the Date for Mass Senior Care's 2025 Annual Meeting & Trade Show
  • Member Resources
    • E-News Updates
      • Past Newsletters
    • Member Updates
    • Preferred Vendors
    • Quality & Wellness Initiatives
      • Fight the Flu Campaign
      • The Massachusetts Healthcare Safety and Quality Consortium
      • Sepsis Smart
      • Care Transitions
      • Culture Change
      • End of Life Care
      • Falls Prevention
      • Reducing Off-Label Use of Antipsychotics
    • Regulatory
    • Policy Committees
    • Other Resources
      • MassMAP (LTC Mutual Aid Plan)
      • Activities Professional (MassCAP)
      • AHCA/NCAL Bookstore
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Center
    • Respect & Protect Nursing Home Caregiver Wages
  • Careers
    • Career Opportunities
    • Care For The Aging
    • Find a Job
    • Members Post a Job
  • For Consumers
    • Care Options
    • Find A Facility
    • How to Choose a Facility
    • Health Care Planning
    • Our Senior Care
  • Foundation

Residents Participate in Drum Circle at Life Care Center of the North Shore

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Member Resources
  • E-News Updates
  • Residents Participate in Drum Circle at Life Care Center of the North Shore
December 19, 2019

On Friday, December 13th, Life Care Center of the North Shore organized a drum circle for residents and visitors from Mass Senior Care and The Boston Globe. The event was led by David Currier, Life Care’s expert on dementia programming in the Northeast Division, alongside Sarah Blacker, a board-certified Music Therapist.

Residents gather in a circle and are given a choice of different types of drums, bells and maracas. The facilitators are in the middle, leading with a variety of drum patterns and familiar songs to sing along with. The residents, many of who have varying stages of dementia, drum, dance and sing along in synchrony to the beats.

Through extensive research, drumming has been shown to lower blood pressure, improve symptoms of anxiety and depression, decrease somatic pain responses and elicit positive emotional responses within a supportive social setting.

“Within music therapy, there’s a place for everyone to be their whole selves. Music evokes positive memories, emotions and musical responses from individuals who may not typically engage,” says Blacker.

At Friday’s drum circle, two residents described the experience as “the best Christmas gift” and “the best type of therapy” they could have received. The joy that the residents experienced lasted beyond the hour-long program, spreading positivity throughout the facility that night.

Photos by 26 North Studios

Upcoming Education & Events

calendar icon
Jun
16

June 16 at 2:00 pm

2025 Leadership Conference

Sep
9

September 9 at 9:00 am

2025 Unit Manager Training Program

View Entire Calendar

Find a Facility

Recent News

newspaper icon
June 6, 2025
AHCAL/NCAL Announces 2025 Bronze National Quality Award Recipients
May 30, 2025
May 30, 2025
View All Recent News

Find a Preferred Vendor

msca logo

Footer menu

  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

State Affiliate Of

American Health Care Association Logo
National Center for Assisted Living Logo