The End of Life Care Program
for People with Dementia

Welcome to Namaste Care

“No long-term care residential
setting should be without Namaste Care...”
- Jan Dougherty, R.N., M.S., Direxctor, Family & Community Services, Banner Alzheimer's Institute

Over five years ago, I created Namaste Care, a program for people with advanced dementia in nursing facilities. Since its inception, it has grown in ways I never dreamed of. How exciting to see the approaches we use in Namaste Care reaching people with advanced Parkinson’s disease, emphysema, failure to thrive, or people who are depressed. Namaste Care has made a positive difference in their lives. The Namaste staff have shown me that residents in the moderate stage of a dementing illness and who are easily agitated by to much stimulation are calmed by sitting in the Namaste Care room. Even the resident who constantly paces is sometimes drawn into the room by the scent of lavender and soft music and will sit for awhile.

Not only has the type of person Namaste Care serves expanded but it can now be found in a variety of settings that include nursing facilities, assisted living communities, and hospice organizations. Click on the “provider” button to see some of the organizations I have worked with that are offering Namaste Care.

The older I get, the more I realize that not much in life is simply a coincidence. When I happened to be present at the death of a Namaste Care resident Matthew Wilk, his wife Celia urged me to write about her husbands experience in Namaste and the first small article was published. Again, little did I know that this was the seed that grew into a book “The End-of-Life Namaste Care Program for People with Advanced Dementia” published last year by Health Professions Press.

I have been invited to speak about Namaste Care for hundreds of groups in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Last year I had the opportunity to work with an interpreter so that I could also present Namaste Care to health care professionals in Prague, Czech Republic, my summer home. It does not appear to matter what country I am in, people struggle to provide quality of life at the end of life.

I would love to hear from you whether you are looking for a speaker, private consultant or just to let me know how your Namaste Care program is blooming!  The power of loving touch, the central theme of Namaste Care, is a powerful force that gives solace to most of us. 

Namaste,

Joyce Simard