News and Events

Hearthstone President and Founder Dr. John Zeisel was recently
featured in “O Magazine” in an article titled “Bed, Bath & Bliss”,
written by Tim Jarvis. The article focuses on how light, space and
room layout affect physical and psychological well-being.

To read the article, Click here

New York Magazine has named Hearthstone as
one of the 20 OUTSTANDING housing options for
seniors living in New York City.

To read the article, Click here

Hearthstone's Artist for Alzheimer's Program
featured on

NEW YORK , July 2, 2006 – Irene Brenton has Alzheimer’s, yet here she was at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, laughing, getting witty about a painting called “The Breakfast Room.”

"Maybe he was hungry," she said. "He painted it before he ate!"

Usually, Alzheimer's patients develop what doctors call "the four A's" — anxiety, aggression, agitation and apathy. Yet there was Sheila Barnes, with severe short-term memory loss, chatting about her past — "My father was a writer and an editor," she recalled — while contemplating a French masterpiece and relaxing in front of Rousseau's mysterious "Sleeping Gypsy." "I think it's a picture of mutual peace and trust," Barnes said. "The animal is not afraid of the man; the man is not afraid of the animal."

The four A's often fade in front of great art, and patients calm down ......

To read a transcript of the televised segment, please click here.

Hearthstone's Artist for Alzheimer's Program
featured in recent Boston Globe article

Reviving memories through art

By Peter Schworm

Her eyes have failed and her mind is beginning to fade, but in her mind's eye, 88-year-old Nellie Woolley still sees clear and bright. Visiting the Big Apple Circus in Boston last week, Woolley, who lives at an Alzheimer's care facility in Brockton, clapped in time to the music, laughed with the crowd, and beamed as a young woman sitting beside her described the clowns and acrobats and dogs jumping over obstacles on their hind legs. Memories come harder for Woolley now, but the circus drew some deeply held ones to the surface. "It brings things back, back to when I was a girl," she said. "I used to go and just walk around and see the clowns. I can picture it in my mind." The circus visit was part of an innovative form of treatment for Alzheimer's patients that uses music and art and, in this case, a common childhood experi ence to stir memories and enliven their minds. Organizers of the initiative called "Artists for Alzheimer's" and launched by Hearthstone Alzheimer Care, which runs the Brockton residence and seven others in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut believe that art and other multisensory experiences can help patients tap into memories that the disease has shrouded but not stolen.

To view the full article, please click here.

Hearthstone Founder publishes revised edition of
Inquiry by Design

To order,
click on the book cover

Inquiry by Design: Environment/Behavior/Neuroscience in Architecture, Interiors, Landscape, and Planning

Inquiry by Design lays out fundamental theoretical approaches to design and research as well as practical research methods applicable to planning, programming, and evaluating physical environments. It systematically describes basic methods of research and how to apply them and shows how collaboration between designers and researchers leads to greater design creativity.This new edition features details about the planning and implementation of Dr. Zeisel's design principles at several Hearthstone residences.

2005: Hearthstone's Artist for Alzheimer's Program
featured in the New York Times

This article focuses on Hearthstone's innovative partnership with the Museum of Modern Art
in New York, called "Meet Me at MoMA and Make Memories" .

For a copy of the article, please click here.
(in .pdf format)

Hearthstone Art Program Recognized at
International Conference

Trondheim, Norway - “Artists for Alzheimer’s,” an initiative of the Hearthstone Alzheimer’s Family Foundation, was awarded a Citation of Honor from the International Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (IAHSA) at its 2005 annual conference, held in Trondheim, Norway. This award is given in recognition of organizations that are models of innovation and excellence and that contribute significantly to the quality of life of the individuals served. “Artists for Alzheimer’s” was one of only three programs worldwide that were singled out for such an honor. Dr. Joan Hyde, co-founder of Hearthstone Alzheimer Care and the Hearthstone Alzheimer’s Family Foundation, was in Norway at the annual conference and accepted the beautiful inscribed glass award on behalf of the “Artists for Alzheimer’s” program.

To read the entire story, click here.

Artists for Alzheimer’s Featured in Television Program

Dr. John Zeisel was recently interviewed on “One-on-One” by Emmy-award winning television host Steve Adubato. During the interview Zeisel discussed his research into non-pharmacologic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and also his role as Producer with the “Artists for Alzheimer’s” program. Zeisel is the co-founder of the Hearthstone Alzheimer’s Family Foundation. “One-on-One” is broadcast throughout the Northeast United States on the Comcast channel.

2003: New York Times features Hearthstone's Environmental Treatment Programs

This article in the New York Times explores the correlation between
an Alzheimer's patient's enviroment and lifestyle and their quality of life.

click here to read the article

(in .pdf format)

Hearthstone research article published in "The Gerontologist"

The Gerontologist, a prestigious journal of the National Gerontological Society of America is publishing a research article co-authored by Joan Hyde, Ph.D. and John Zeisel, Ph.D., co-founders of Hearthstone Alzheimer Care, along with Nina Silverstein, Ph.D. of UMass Boston and other researchers from UMass and Harvard. The article strikes new ground by demonstrating conclusively that the physical environment is associated with reduced behavioral symptoms of the disease-despite medications taken, age of resident, or stage in the disease. Based on funding from the National Institutes on Health, this article reports on this new thoroughly researched study to show the positive effects physical environment can have in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The article concludes with a plea to broaden our perspective towards Alzheimer's disease-to coordinate environmental, behavioral, and pharmaceutical treatment into a more comprehensive total treatment for those living with Alzheimer's.

click here to read the article

(in .pdf format)

BBC interviews Dr. Zeisel about Alzheimer's music project

Quentin Cooper, host of the popular live science interview show "The Material World," recently interviewed John Zeisel on BBC 4 Radio in London. Focused on the development of a music and Alzheimer's project entitled "Swansongs," the interview was conducted jointly with Dr. Zeisel's collaborator, Professor Paul Robertson, leader of the world renowned Medici Quartet. "Swansongs" uses music to convey to caregivers the emotional complexities that accompany the disease. According to Dr. Zeisel, "Swansongs also illustrates the internal states of a person living with Alzheimer's, employing the development of Western music through the last 300 years as a parallel to the many stages of the disease." Robertson and Zeisel recently performed "Swansongs" at the Study Society (Colet House) in London and at the Manchester Cathedral, sponsored by The Caritas Project.

Click here to listen

CNN features Hearthstone's "Healing Garden"

CNN's national morning cable news program aired a segment highlighting the therapeutic value of Hearthstone's healing garden. The program featured interviews with Hearthstone residents and staff, including an in-depth interview with Seth Dudley, Executive Director, and Dr. John Zeisel, Hearthtone's President and co-architect of the healing garden design. In the interview, Dr. Zeisel emphasized the importance of non-pharmacological treatment of the symptoms of Alzheimer's and related forms of dementia. "We must take a new look at the way Alzheimer's disease is defined and treated," he said. "Medications should not be seen as the only way to alleviate symptoms. A healing garden which can help re-connect people with pleasant memories and give them a sense of self and identity is much more powerful than any drug."

To request a DVD of the program, click here

Hearthstone in the News

Growing Tranquility- Boston Globe

Life by Design - Harvard Magazine

New Facility Fills Gap in Alzheimer's Care - The Boston Globe

Personal Touch - The Hopkinton Crier

Outreach: The Latest Effort in Battle Against Alzheimer's - Hospital News

Hearthstone Wins Award for Healing Design - The Hopkinton Crier

The recent Hearthstone publications are in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. If you do not have Acrobat, click on the button below to install it on your computer.

This page last updated March 14, 2008