Namaste Care & Joyce Simard Testimonials & Reviews

end of life namaste care program
  • “Fabulous idea for advanced dementia care. Lots of excellent practical suggestions to enhance quality of life for end of life dementia”
  • “Very heartwarming and a good illustration of how to improve care.”
  • “Going through having a mother still at home with advanced dementia this presentation has touched my heart. Namaste care is (should be ) the future. Thank you. Best program at AMDA I've attended.”

    • - Selected quotes from attendees of the American Medical Directors Association meeting, 2010
    “Joyce Simard shows us how to embrace one of the most challenging care situations with grace, compassion, respect, and a dash of humor ... inspiring and filled with practical suggestions ... a must read for anyone involved in dementia care. ”
    - Margaret P. Calkins, Ph.D., president, I.D.E.A.S Inc.
    “Give(s) the reader a step-by-step guide to implementing this amazing program without incurring high labor costs or capitol expense. The results of the Namaste program at EPOCH buildings have been nothing short of heartwarming and wonderful for all who are touched by it. ”
    - Joanna Cormac Burt, Cheif Operating Officer, EPOCH Senior Living
    “Namaste care is the best approach to dementia care I have ever seen! We saw immediate and amazing results with residents from day one. This program truly touches "the spirit within" and you can see it happening right before your eyes. The staff feel so good and take pride in this program. We also found Namaste care is great for residents with TBI, pain and emotional/behavioral disturbances. This is a must have program for all facilities. Joyce was great to work with. Staff enjoyed Joyce's dynamic and educational in-services. ”
    - James Bessette, Nurse Manager, Birchwood Terrace Healthcare, Burlington, Vermont
    “You honor the very essence of the human being until their last breath, well done!”
    - Namaste Care End-of-Life Program Workshop in November 07 for Washington Association of Housing and Services for the Aging
    “Just wanted you to know that the Namaste program in Bremerton is going wonderful.
    Some of our residents are so happy and so full of life. Some talk throughout, some relax and dose off. A few days ago a resident saw me coming with the cart and said, "me first,me first." Then she proceded to take off her glasses folded them and set them aside. during the namaste time she was smiling and talking. A Caregiver came in the room and she Happily told her she Takes good care of me!
    The skin of our residents due to the lotion and the drinks is so wonderful for them. They just love the experience.
    Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Our residents deserve the very best we can give them and what a wonderful gift of love and one to one attention.”
    - Janet Presley, Life Enrichment Director,Ashley Gardens Bremerton Washington
    “We had survey this week, it went pretty good. I wanted to share with you that the surveyors thought our Namaste Care Program was wonderful. They mentioned the Namaste Care personally and how good she was with the residents. One of the surveyors followed a Namaste resident for 2 days and she said that she could see the difference in this resident when she was in Namaste and how relaxed she was. ”
    - Patricia A. Young, RN Director of Nursing EPOCH Senior Living Center, Sharon, MA.
    “Namaste is one of the most excellent therapies that I have witnessed for end of life dementia patients. My mother participated in this program at Epoch of Chestnut Hill and I must admit it was a godsend to both she and I. The staff that worked in the Namaste room were excellent. But more importantly I found that it gave residents and family alike a sense of peace and tranquility while "honoring our spirits within".
    The Namaste program opened up a whole new meaning for my Mom and I to communicate in a loving and safe environment. I sensed a peace and tranquility that I had not witnessed before in my mother. Namaste, certainly provided her with the dignity, love, and honoring the spirit in her end stage of Alzheimer's disease.
    For me, Namaste gave me hope. That hope was there were snatches of reality for my mother and I. There were short periods of lucidity where Mom and I could touch, feel, hug, and kiss. Additionally, it gave Mom a way to communicate with others and to enjoy times past by the music that was played along with a sense of reality through the scents that could be smelled throughout the Namaste room.
    Most importantly, Mom felt loved, wanted. Thank you Namaste and thank you Joyce Simard for developing a program that gives "Hope" while honoring and validating the experiences and feelings of Alzheimer's patients and families.”
    - Damon Grew Syphers, Son of Rae Surprise who died at Epoch on September 12, 2007.
    “Hi Joyce! I want to thank you again for creating this program and sharing it with us!  There have been so many good stories and comments that have come from this program!  We have made it ours and made it successful despite our challenges.”
    - Stacy Beene CDP, CAD, Director of Programming, Fountain View Nursing Home
    “NAMASTE' is totally happening!!!  Averie Smith who shared Activity time and Front Desk time ... applied for the position and is now our FULL TIME NAMASTE' person!!!!!  He's awesome...the living room looks absolutely 1,000 better than it ever has.....it helps the Activity Dept tremendously.  We can now carry out REAL activities with those who do not attend Namaste'.......  Joyce, seriously...NAMASTE' is the BEST thing that ever happened here!”
    - Gail Tarantino, Brewster SHC

    The End-of-Life Namaste Care Program for People with Dementia
    Book Reviewed by Lauren S. Seifert