“When I asked her what she had for lunch, she couldn’t remember — and then she said, does it really matter anyway?”
My mom was a gifted musician, language scholar, and therapist. Despite progressive dementia, she taught me what is important.
Ruth Minnema, RN, MA
Talk with RuthA diagnosis often becomes the only story that is told.
A Care Plan is written based on regulations and disease deficits. And somewhere in all that documentation, the person gets lost.
Most approaches make you choose between compliance and person directed living. Ruth’s work is where those two finally live in the same room.
What working together looks like
A story or video of who she was for a lifetime, so everyone caring for her can finally see her.
Elder Stories — a personal story or video.
Reach the person behind the dementia, using their own story as the map.
Individual, family, or group coaching — in person or virtual.
Care partners sit facing each other and learn together — real stories, real problem-solving, not a lecture.
Care Partner Community Education — learning-circle format.
For senior-living communities: residents choose the topics, and generations learn side by side.
Aging Well Education — learning circles in assisted-living and senior-living communities.
The conversation that holds safety and dignity in the same hand, with the whole care team in the room.
Risk & Independence — facilitated risk-management conversations.
In her own words — why this work, and what it means.
For over 30 years, I worked to reimagine nursing homes as places where people are well-known and honored.
The stories elders shared with me made one thing clear: a person does not disappear when more care is needed.
My own mother taught me the rest. This is the work that grew out of those years, and out of her.
Ruth
Ruth Minnema · RN, MA, DDCS · DAWN Method® Certified Trainer · Eden Alternative® Educator · 30+ years in long-term care
Not ready to talk? Read Stories Worth Telling on LinkedIn. →
In their words
Anonymous feedback from Ruth’s sessions across care homes, community programs, and Eden Alternative events.
Ruth is a treasure, like so many other aspects of Eden. Thank you so very much. You can be sure I will be sharing this.
Something every person working in healthcare — PCH, homes, community — should attend. Game changing.
Ruth, you were very engaging and incredibly helpful throughout the session. I truly appreciated how relevant the information was to the needs of our facility and how practical your examples were for making care plans more individualized. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience. I found the session very valuable and look forward to the next one.
Makes you think in depth and stay within the regulations. See the bigger picture, which is patient care and rights!
Talk with Ruth.
No pitch — just an honest conversation about the person you’re caring for.
Or call
303-819-5856