Dementia Spring Models How Artistry Brings Joy to Patients and Builds Community Bonds

Dr. Marc Rothman has a history of experience working within the aging space, becoming a subject-matter expert in related topics like palliative care, but, particularly dementia. In 2019, he helped to found Dementia Spring, a non-profit 501c3 organization focused on improving the lives of people with dementia through education, resources, and innovation.  It turns out that their primary tool for this work is artistry in music, dance, painting, and all forms that bring creativity to the forefront. Additionally, the organization rewards artists who use their medium to educate communities on the subject of dementia to generate greater understanding.

In this conversation, Dr. Rothman talks about their work at Dementia Spring and introduces us to award-winning filmmaker, writer, and producer, Kate Matthews, whose acclaimed short film, Dark Moon, won an award from Dementia Spring‘s program for honoring artists who impact. Kate shares a bit about her film and where it is being shown next.

Co-hosting with Host, Mary Kurek, is Dr. David Ajibade, Founder of the Brain and Body Foundation and Rachael Wonderlin, Dementia and Senior Living Consultant at Dementia by Day, LLC, and three-time Johns Hopkins Press author.

Meet Dr. Marc Rothman

Dr. Marc Rothman’s Bio

Dr. Marc Rothman is the founder of the Dementia Spring Foundation, an organization that supports visual and performing artists who are portraying dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in a new light through their work.

He is also a physician executive with deep experience in home- and community-based services for older adults, physician practice management and clinical operations, value-based care and Advanced Alternative Payment Models, regulatory affairs, quality improvement, and post-acute and long-term care.

He was most recently CMO of Signify Health and currently serves as a Director for the Mission Healthcare Corp., with the Vistria Group, and was a Director for the Healthdrive Corp. He also serves as a strategic advisor for Life365 Health, a patient engagement and remote monitoring platform company.

Katie Mathews Bio

Katie is an award-winning film director and producer. Her films take you on intimate, nuanced journeys through life’s transitions, with a decade of documentary and narrative skills in the driver’s seat. She also directs and produces purpose-driven editorial and commercial work for organizations like Conde Nast, National Geographic, Disney+, and Hulu, bringing important stories to global audiences.

She is currently directing the feature documentary Roleplay about a group of college students who use theatre to confront campus rape culture. Recently she wrote and directed the narrative short Dark Moon about a father-daughter relationship faced with Dementia that premiered at Sun Valley and Sarasota Film Festivals and co-directed an audio-first experimental film called Signal and Noise about the sounds of Guantánamo Bay Detention Center, winner of a Special Jury Prize at the New Orleans Film Festival.

Previously she produced and story edited Mossville, a feature documentary about environmental racism that premiered at Full Frame Film Festival where it won the Human Rights Award. She also directed and produced Post Coastal, an NEA and Smithsonian-funded documentary series about Louisiana coastal communities and climate change. Her independent film work has screened at festivals around the world, on PBS, at the Museum of the Moving Image, and at the United Nations.

She received the prestigious Princess Grace Award for Film in 2022 with the Wendy Ferguson Honor for distinction. She has been a fellow in renowned programs such as the Gotham Documentary Lab (2021), the Points North Fellowship and Pitch (2019), and the New Orleans Film Society’s Southern Producers Lab (2018). She holds a BA in Communications from Northwestern University and recently completed her MFA in Integrated Media Arts from CUNY-Hunter College.

Electronic press kit

Dr. Marc Rothman’s and Katie Mathews’ Contact and Resources

Dr. Marc Rothman’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcrothmanmd/

Dr. Marc Rothman’s Company (Dementia Spring Foundation) Website: https://dementiaspring.org/

Katie Mathews’ Website: www.katie-mathews.com
Katie Mathews’ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katielynmathews/
Katie Mathews’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelynmathews/
Katie Mathews’ Short film (Dark Moon) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_moon_film/

Dementia Spring Foundation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dementiaspring/

Dementia Spring Foundation Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dementiaspring/

Dementia Spring Foundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dementiaspring/

Dementia Spring Foundation Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/dementiaspring

About Dementia Spring, from Dr. Marc Rothman

The organization and non-profit Foundation arm were founded by my wife Sisi Myint and I in 2019 to be a catalyst for changing the narrative of dementia in the modern age.  For far too long dementia has been assumed to be only about wheelchairs and nursing homes, an outdated construct that’s no longer represents the lived experience of dementia and Alzheimer’s among families worldwide.

With community engagement, caregiver support, new medications and lifestyle modifications, dementia (especially Alzheimer’s) has become a slowly progressing chronic disease like any other, and those with the disease don’t want to remain hidden, embarrassed or discounted any longer.

Dementia Spring supports and promotes visual and performing artists who are telling new stories of dementia and raising awareness about the lived experiences of those afflicted.  We do this through direct grants, technical and marketing support, weekly spotlights of a new artist, and annual in-person events.  www.dementiaspring.org is the website.  Kate is our first Impact Award recipient, several others are profiled below:

Special Thanks to Our Co-Hosts:

Rachael Wonderlin

Rachael Wonderlin is an internationally recognised dementia care expert and educator. She has a Master’s in Gerontology and is a Johns Hopkins University Press three-time published author. Rachael is the owner of Dementia By Day, a dementia care consulting firm and education company. While Rachael works primarily with senior living companies looking to build or better their dementia care programs, she also loves educating dementia care partners through her blog, podcast, and YouTube channel.

She has been featured in Senior Housing News, The Washington Post, Forbes and on PBS Next Avenue. Her “16 Things I’d Want If I Got Dementia” poem has circulated the globe many times over. One of Rachael’s clients, English Meadows, won first place in Senior Housing News’ 2022 Aspect Awards for their brand launch of Lavender Hills—a brand Rachael worked closely with them to build.

Rachael accepted the University of Mary Washington‘s “Outstanding Young Alumnus” award in 2020 and, the same year, accepted an award from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for “Distinguished Graduate School Alumnus.” Dementia By Day was a Gold Sponsor for the Senior Housing News’ BRAIN Conference in July 2023.

From Rachael Wonderlin:

Here are the best ways to get to know me and the content I create! I’m a dementia care consultant and work primarily with senior living companies to help them create and elevate their dementia care brands and offerings.

My websites:

Here’s a quick intro video about me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-maNfVjweNM&t=1s

Here is my 16 Things poem: https://rachaelwonderlin.com/free-16-things-poster/

I have 3 books, all published by Johns Hopkins Press. They can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rachael-Wonderlin/author/B07TY5KRDR?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

My Amazon Favorites list of dementia care products: https://www.amazon.com/shop/dementiabyday

My monthly support group: www.patreon.com/dementiabyday/membership

Dr. David Ajibade

Dr David Ajibade’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdavidajibade/

Brain and Body Foundation Site: https://www.brainandbodyfoundation.org/

Check out this Dirty Dozen Dementia Playlist by Dr David Ajibade.

Check out our interview with Dr. David Ajibade