Mary’s Story – Who is Mary?

The photo of Mary used in these storyboards is of Lois Lucille Lewis (1912-2004). Lois is the grandmother of Pioneer Network’s Research and Evaluation Consultant, Amy Elliot, and was an avid proponent of Amy’s research of culture change in nursing homes. Lois shared with Amy her love of life, thirst for knowledge, and appreciation of the virtues of being an elder in her community. She had a long career as a teacher and educator. Her family is proud to share her image to teach once again and hopefully inspire others dedicated to creating positive change in their organizations and communities.

The Story of Mary – Two of the incubator homes in Pioneer Network’s Learning Collaborative were working with female residents with dementia and clinical nursing backgrounds. Mary is based on a composite of these residents. Interestingly, both homes developed similar solutions to support their residents and to minimize their distress. They both related to their “Mary” as a nurse, and regularly discussed nursing with her. They engaged her in activity that connected her with her nursing background. Understanding her previous career schedules, they supported her to maintain her routines. They achieved this through continual communication and teamwork among all the members of the care team.

For implementation guidance and how-to’s, please visit Pioneer Network’s web-based Starter Toolkit and the Engaging Staff in Individualizing Care Implementation Handbook.