What is Namaste Care?
The word namaste, pronounced “nah-ma-sta,” is a Hindu greeting often used in the United States by yoga instructors as a farewell to students at the end of class. Two hands are pressed together and held near the heart with the head gently bowed as the person says, “Namaste. Go in peace.” The word namaste expresses a wish to “honor the spirit within” and was selected as the name to describe a special way of caring for nursing facility residents with advanced dementia. As the Namaste program evolved, “Care” was added to the name to describe the many ways that Namaste team members provide services and programming to residents and their families. Thus, the name of the program has officially become Namaste Care. Namaste Care is designed to honor the spirit of nursing facility residents who have reached the stage of their disease in which they are no longer able to speak, walk, think, and reason. Namaste Care philosophy supports the belief that the spirit of residents with advanced dementia c
