MemoryWell is making lasting memories for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Jay Newton-Small knows a thing or two about storytelling. She’s worked as a journalist for more than 15 years, with her work appearing in Time and Bloomberg. Jay’s father Graham was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when Jay was in college. He became one of her first in-depth interview subjects. She spent many hours interviewing him and grew to become his voice. When her mother passed away in 2006, Jay became her father’s primary caregiver. When Jay moved her father, Graham, into an Alzheimer’s assisted living facility, she knew that it was time to tell his story. Upon arriving at the facility, she was handed a 20-page questionnaire asking for details about her father’s life. “I handed in the form blank and said I wanted to write a story that would be easier for me and easier for them,” Jay explains. “I wrote down his story and they absolutely loved. It completely transformed his care.” Graham grew up in Australia, and that served as the basis for his story. As his Alzheimer’s progressed and he grew more violent, his caregivers knew to bring up kangaroos and other anecdotes to calm him down. “Knowing that life history and where he was from made his caregiving so much easier,” Jay explains. That one story has grown into MemoryWell, a network of 350 journalists across the country who are capturing the lives of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients for their loved ones and caregivers. Jay said those writers are “giving voice to the voiceless” in Alzheimer’s communities, where staff turnover can be as much as 50 percent in a given year. Making connections Rather than having to introduce themselves to each new person, patients can present their MemoryWell story. Their story becomes a catalyst to warm a new relationship with each caregiver. The stories also help facility staff get to know each patient as a person, rather than as someone that they shuffle from place to place throughout the day. The stories collected benefit three main groups: The Alzheimer’s or dementia patient. Research shows that storytelling can reduce depression and increase empathy and bonds with caregivers. Caregivers: “This is a miserable job, that’s why there’s so much turnover,” Jay said. “Taking someone to the bathroom five times per day who you don’t know and can’t really speak to isn’t very much fun. Anything that makes their jobs better also help the patients.” Families, who benefit from the legacy building that the stories cultivate. In some cases, they learn new things about their family member and are able to pass along those stories to future generations. Assisted living facilities display the stories to help residents and staff get to know one another and form a sense of community in what can be a very isolated environment. “Building those bonds is incredibly powerful,” Jay commented. MemoryWell stories can be useful for anyone, not just Alzheimer’s or dementia patients. Jay said the company works with families who simply want to preserve stories from an older generation. Turning stories into a business Jay’s reporting has taken her to five continents. She has interviewed every living president. In 2016, Jay covered Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign for Time. She left the magazine in November 2016 to focus exclusively on MemoryWell. Telling stories is one thing, but starting a business is something else entirely. Jay applied her journalism background to ask the right questions and understand the process of how businesses operate. After Jay wrote her father’s story, she asked journalist friends to write stories about other families at the recommendation of caregivers. Over time, she learned that being able to print the stories was important because many assisted living facilities do not have Wi-Fi and that adding photos and videos helped create more compelling pieces than those with written words alone. The company received its first paying clients in fall 2016 and incorporated