Marybelle Baby Doll Project soothes people with dementia
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Betty Decedur, a 93-year-old resident at McMurray Hills Manor, was diagnosed with dementia several years ago, but remembers all the words to the Andrews Sisters’ song, “Apple Blossom Time.” Her son Jeff Decedur, pictured with her, said Betty loves singing to her doll, Annabelle, which she received from the Marybelle Baby Doll Project, launched in 2019 by Gateway Hospice nurse Amanda DeGusipe.
Betty Decedur, a resident at McMurray Hills Manor, never leaves her room without Annabelle, a baby doll she received through the Marybelle Baby Doll Project. She received the baby doll at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Carol Mattola, center, receives a gift from Marybelle Baby Doll Project founder Amanda DeGusipe and Mrs. Claus Monday morning.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Jim Welsh holds the reins while Sophie leads a carriage filled with presents for residents at McMurray Hills Manor behind her. Welsh and Sophie made the Marybelle Baby Doll Project distribution at the manor Monday more festive, and residents enjoyed having their photos taken in front of the carriage by Mike’s Carriage Service.
Mrs. Claus and Jolly Old Saint Nick visited with residents of McMurray Hills Manor this week during the Marybelle Baby Doll Project gift delivery event.
McMurray Hills Manor staff smiles in front of the horse-drawn carriage that delivered baby dolls from the Marybelle Baby Doll Project to residents on Monday.
McMurray Hills Manor resident Scott Phillips, center, smiles for the camera as his family documents the moment. Phillips enjoyed the holiday party at the manor Monday morning.
Shirley Woods, left, and Carol Mattola enjoyed a horse-and-carriage meeting during a McMurray Hills Manor holiday celebration Monday, where the Marybelle Baby Doll Project, started by Uniontown nurse Amanda DeGusipe, delivered gifts of baby dolls and teddy bears to residents with dementia and Alzheimer's.
Dennis Boerner, a resident at McMurray Hills Manor, poses in front of a carriage filled with baby dolls from the Marybelle Baby Doll Project. Boerner's niece, Adrian Jonas, and nephew, David Boerner, spent the morning with Dennis for the manor's holiday celebration. The carriage was driven by Jim Welsh of Mike's Carriage Service.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Christmas came early to McMurray Hills Manor when a carriage filled with baby dolls arrived on Dec. 6.
Amanda DeGusipe knows how to relieve the anxiety felt by seniors with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
She provides them with lifelike baby dolls.
DeGusipe, a nurse at Gateway hospice, created the Marybelle Baby Doll Project, which collects and delivers the babies to dementia and Alzheimer’s patients in assisted living facilities and senior centers in Southwestern Pennsylvania for seniors to love and care for.
On Monday, DeGusipe, of Uniontown, Fayette County, kicked off her Christmas baby doll distribution, arriving via horse and carriage to drop off babies to residents at McMurray Hills Manor in McMurray.
“The patients love their babies. I’ve had families say medications and other alternatives didn’t help, but the baby did. Holding and comforting the baby, feeding them, caring for them improved their comfort and lessened their stress,” said DeGusipe. “It’s been amazing, it’s really been heartwarming.”
DeGusipe launched the Marybelle project in 2019, in honor of her grandmother, Marybelle Smith, who struggled with dementia during her final years.
Her grandmother, DeGusipe said, had been a strong, independent woman who raised 11 children. After she was diagnosed with dementia, the one thing that comforted her was a baby doll that she loved to hold and cuddle.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, DeGusipe watched as family visitation and socialization in facilities was suspended or altered, and how it turned the world of dementia patients upside down.
“I thought, what can we do for them that’s tangible, and I thought of my grandmother, and how holding her baby doll gave her a sense of purpose and how she took comfort from her baby, and how it soothed her,” said DeGusipe. “I never thought in a million years the Marybelle Project would turn into what it has.”
Since it began, the Marybelle Baby Doll Project has given away more than 500 baby dolls donated by individuals, schools, colleges, churches, funeral homes, and other organizations.
Purple drop boxes for doll donations have been set up across Southwestern Pennsylvania, and donations made through Dec. 20 will be distributed to dementia and Alzheimer’s patients before Christmas.
McMurray Hills Manor resident Betty Decedur, 93, received her baby doll, Annabelle, from the Marybelle Project at the beginning of the pandemic and carries Annabelle everywhere she goes.
“Mom doesn’t ever let Annabelle go; she’s with her 24 hours a day,” said her son, Jeff Decedur. “She absolutely loves Annabelle. She gives her a sense of relaxation, gives her a sense of comfort. We treat Annabelle like family.”
During Monday’s baby doll gift giveaway, Betty – who Jeff Decedur described as the ideal, loving, “Leave it to Beaver” mom who later became a beloved crossing guard in her hometown of Ambridge – sang the Andrews Sisters’ “Apple Blossom Time” to her baby doll, something she often does.
“Mom’s demeanor is that she’s very happy all of the time, but Annabelle has helped tremendously through COVID, especially when I was only able to visit her through a window. Annabelle is absolutely a blessing for her,” said Jeff Decedur.
Research shows that using a baby doll or teddy bear can be an effective way to comfort people with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
“I saw it in my grandmother, and I’ve seen in patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia that holding a baby doll can help decrease stress and agitation that they often experience,” DeGusipe said. “Doll therapy, holding those baby dolls, is a way to put responsibility and structure back into their lives. It gives them something to care for, and it helps to cheer patients who have depression.”
The dolls, DeGusipe said, can take those with memory loss-related illnesses back to a time when they had children or grandchildren.
“They remember caring for their own children. Mothers never forget caring for our children. We’ve never had anyone have a negative reaction to a baby doll. I’ll see someone sitting in the room holding their baby, kissing it, and it’s so sweet. It makes me so happy,” said DeGusipe.
DeGusipe described how one of the residents of a long-term care facility entrusts the director of nursing to babysit her baby doll each day while she goes to lunch. Another resident who passed away asked that her baby doll be buried with her.
DeGusipe also is collecting teddy bear donations, and fidget aprons – aprons with a variety of items, like zippers, buttons, and bells to engage and stimulate people with memory loss illnesses.
She recommends donating baby dolls with soft bodies that are weighted, and that are between 16 and 20 inches long. Suggestions for baby dolls can be found on the Marybelle Baby Doll Project Facebook page.
“It’s really just humbling to see how many people care about others,” said DeGusipe. “It feels good to give back, especially right now. It’s something that truly makes a difference.”
Donations can be mailed or dropped off at the Pittsburgh Gateway Hospice office, 9380 McKnight Rd., Suite 201, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15237. Or, contact Amanda DeGusipe at 412-737-2436 about dropping off baby dolls at Gateway’s Washington office at 95 W. Beau St., Suite 510, Washington, Pa., 15301. Or visit the Facebook page for additional information or questions about donations.