My Vigorous Mind Success Stories
The Northbridge Companies
The Northbridge Companies develop, own and manage senior living communities throughout New England.
“In my role as the Vice President of Operations of The Northbridge Companies, I am always interested in how we can improve the lives of our residents in ways that are meaningful and unexpected. We pride ourselves in being the “next generation” of assisted living, and so when over a year ago, I read the results of our customer satisfaction surveys and noted that while generally very satisfied, there were a significant number of comments from residents that would like “more intellectual stimulation”, I was committed to delivering just that. As I researched the possibilities I realized that My Vigorous Mind was the ideal solution for exceeding the expectations of our residents. This program, which we were the first company in the country to feature in our communities, is living up to its promise of adding enrichment to the lives of our residents, and doing so in a wonderfully fun and innovative way.”
Sharon Ricardi
Vice President, Operations
The Northbridge Companies
Maplewood at Danbury
Maplewood at Danbury is an assisted living and memory care residence in Danbury, CT. Maplewood has 105 residents and introduced the Vigorous Mind brain gym in November of 2007. Executive Director Mark Barwise says:
“We have introduced all our residents to this program and they are using it the recommended three times per week, however the vast majority of them have been using the program on their own. As new residents come in to our community whether they are in our assisted living program or our memory care program all are enrolling in the My Vigorous Mind program. It is very exciting to see over a dozen residents utilizing the Brain Gym at one time, really enjoying the brain exercises, the mind games, the email, the albums, and the variety of activities the program has to offer!
The introduction of the My Vigorous Mind program has provided us with an advantage over our competition and our community, as you know we have been highlighted on the Channel 8 News and we were on the front page of the area paper, The News Times. The media exposure has been invaluable. Because the program has been so successful and we find it to be so beneficial for our residents, we have decided to expand the Brain Gym area to include the third floor of our community.
It is a cost effective way for us to keep our residents cognitively fit! I would recommend this program to all senior care providers. I have demonstrated this program at our local senior center and the seniors loved it. I invite any one that is interested in My Vigorous Mind to stop by our community and see our residents using the program. Kind regards,”
Mark Barwise
Executive Director
Maplewood at Danbury