Individual Health Care Professionals

The following programs can be attended by multi-disciplinary health care professionals:

Lunch and Learn

An informative and engaging lunchtime program addressing selected topics appropriate for multidisciplinary healthcare professionals. Lunch and Learn topics include:

• Alzheimer’s Disease: Update on Research and Practice
• Medicaid and Medicare Updates
• Behavioral Changes Associated with Dementia
• Late Stage Care Planning
• Helping Families Cope

Basic Dementia / Respite Care Training Program

A family and community-based caregiver training designed to enhance knowledge relative to caring for persons who have memory loss, confusion, and other difficulties due to some form of dementia. The program includes five three-hour training sessions:

• Overview of Normal Aging, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
• Basic Personal Care Skills
• Care Plans and Behaviors; Environment and Safety
• Parkinson’s Disease, Course Final Examination, and Course Debriefing
• Certified Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and First Aid certification

Dementia Care Facilities

Education and training programs are offered to further the knowledge of caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. Our goal is to provide the tools for better care of memory-impaired adults. As most facilities are not required to have their employees trained in Alzheimer's-specific care, many facilities are comprised of large staffs, often with little understanding of how to communicate with patients or deal with their difficult behaviors. Our programs play an important role in addressing these deficiencies and incorporate innovative methods for facilities to provide the best in Alzheimer’s disease care.

To schedule any one of these trainings, please contact Amanda Golstein at 713.314.1307.

Effective Communication Techniques and Skills for Residents Experiencing Dementia

Persons with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease experience changes in their ability to communicate with others. These changes present challenges for families, caretakers, and the person with dementia. This course is designed to enhance knowledge and skills regarding a number of typical communication changes associated with dementia, barriers and/or factors that inhibit communication with the dementia population, strategies and techniques that promote positive verbal and non-verbal interactions with residents experiencing dementia, and tips for communicating with anxious residents.

Person-Centered Dementia Care Training

This training has been designed to provide guidance and instruction in the provision of quality person-centered dementia care for persons diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The program includes eight one-hour sessions:

• Person-Centered Approach to Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia Care
• Understanding Principles of Aging, Dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease
• Structuring the Dementia Care Program
• Person-Centered Personal Care and Grooming
• Person-Centered Communication Using the “Best Friends” Approach
• Person-Centered Approaches to Behavior Changes
• Person-Centered Activity Programming
• Creating Teamwork as a Best Care Practice

Foundations of Dementia Care

The Foundations of Dementia Care classroom training covers 12 hours in five modules. (Fee for Service)

To open the Foundations of Dementia Care brochure in PDF form please follow this link.

Learning to Lead

Foundations of Dementia Care is based on the premise that learning imparted in the classroom must be carefully nurtured when the learner returns to the care setting. Learning to Lead provides tools for creating an environment of learning that will reinforce lessons learned in the classroom. The goal is to enhance the administrative skills of supervisors, charge nurses and other managers while building the dementia care team and addressing issues of quality dementia care. The module includes three one-hour sessions:

• Leading the Team
• From Classroom to Practice
• Building a Vision

For supervisors, nurses and other group leaders

About Dementia

One of the key elements in providing quality dementia care is to understand Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and how changes in the brain contribute to different behaviors and communication limitations. About Dementia provides participants with a definition of dementia and its impact on a person’s ability to function. Special attention is paid to the importance of care practices that consider individual preferences, needs and abilities in understanding and responding to communication challenges and behaviors. The module includes three one-hour sessions:

• Dementia Basics
• Improving Communication
• Understanding Behavior

For direct care staff and supervisors

Enhancing Mealtime

To ensure that each resident has a pleasant dining experience and gets enough to eat and drink requires the participation of all care staff. Enhancing Mealtime teaches staff the importance of proper nutrition, how to identify resident difficulties, causes of and approaches for challenging mealtime situations, and encouraging independence. The module includes two one-hour sessions:

• Mealtime/Awareness
• Mealtime/Practice

Reducing Pain

Those who work with residents every day are the first line of defense against pain. Pain is complex, multifaceted and unique to the person experiencing it. Reducing Pain discusses the different types and causes of pain and uses videotaped real-life scenarios to teach participants how to recognize, prevent and reduce pain in persons with dementia. The module includes two one-hour sessions:

• Pain/Awareness
• Pain/Practice

Making Connections

Simple things can make all the difference in the world, turning bad days into good ones. These simple things are the most valuable tools that we have to soothe, comfort, and bring joy to persons with dementia. Making Connections describes the social needs of residents and provides tools and techniques for ways to get to know and have meaningful interactions with residents at all stages of dementia. The module includes two one-hour sessions:

• Connect/Awareness
• Connect/Practice