Carol Krancic

MENDOTA – Mendota Lutheran Home team member Carol Krancic of Utica was recently chosen to attend a five-day training retreat in Bloomington, Ind. This opportunity was sponsored by Memory Bridge: The Foundation for Alzheimer’s and Cultural Memory and the Center on Aging and Community, at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.

Among the Institute’s many accomplishments is the acclaimed PBS documentary, “There is a Bridge.” Krancic was offered a scholarship to join 11 other participants from around the globe for this unique immersion event. The mission of the Memory Bridge initiative is: “Everyone, regardless of their degree of mental sharpness, needs companionship, not only to physically survive, but also to live emotionally. Our goal is to create a global community of people who, like us, are learning to listen to people with dementia for what they have to teach us about our own humanity.”

To this end, members of the training retreat engaged in an experience-centered learning journey that positioned people with dementia in the roles of teacher, guide and companion. Members of the retreat experienced various multi-sensory discussions, presentations, and round table learning, which centered on finding important connections with persons who are on the dementia journey. The highlight for the group members was a daily visit to a care home that is created specifically for persons with dementia, where the participants spent time with their “buddies” and enjoyed a 1:1 learning experience through touch, conversation and music therapy experiences.

Krancic has been a trainer and guide in the Illinois Valley for many years for civic and church groups, health care staff members, college students, families, and persons with dementia. She is currently a proud member of the Life Enrichment Team at the Mendota Lutheran Home.