I refer to the report “How stories have changed lives of US nursing home residents” by Nirmal Ghosh (Dec 11).

We have always marvelled at the power of stories and their propensity to be not only life-affirming but life-changing as well. That storytelling has now made its way into nursing homes in the United States is a natural evolution of its potential for inspiring and connecting people.

The basic premise of this therapeutic modality is so beguilingly simple that one wonders why this has never been thought of or implemented before: A resident’s life story and memories are shared with everyone in the nursing home and through that, connections are forged which result in greater understanding, empathy, care and respect for the resident.

Interviewing the residents of nursing homes for what are essentially their biographies may seem a gargantuan task for any agency to undertake, considering the sheer number of Singaporeans in nursing homes, whose numbers can only escalate with the silver tsunami.

It is such a worthwhile endeavour that there can be a concerted multi-ministry effort to rope in people from all walks of life for this task.

Other than volunteers, one can envisage, for instance, students of every stripe, from secondary school to journalism, to nursing, allied health and medical students, helping to “translate” the residents for those around them to provide better care.

The corollary is obviously that the process also fosters understanding and empathy in the interviewer. It is not often that such a simple and lovely idea has the potential for such significant impact. It is my hope that a programme like this may be implemented here and that it may gain traction in bettering the lives of the elderly and disabled.

Colin Lim (Dr)