Professional and Community
Educational Programs
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia
Basic Curriculum – 8 hour Training Course
- Fundamentals of Dementia: Recognize how changes in the brain impact thinking, motor function and behavior
- Effective Communication: Demonstrate effective and compassionate communication strategies from early through late stages of dementia
- Understanding Dementia: Examine strategies that mitigate hoarding, paranoia, hallucination and “sun-downing.”
- Challenging Behaviors: Identify various “triggers” that may underlie episodes of agitation/aggression. Integrate strategies known to calm and de-escalate agitation without the use of sedatives or other psychotropic medications.
- Safety: Identify safety issues resulting from cognitive and motor changes and approaches for prevention
- Activities of Daily Living: Recognize ways to support independence and dignity with dressing, eating, bathing, walking and toileting
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia
Advanced Training Curriculum – 1.5 hours per topic
- Promoting resident rights, independence, individuality and choice for persons with early through late stages of dementia
- Resident rights and self determination for persons impacted by dementia
- Ability centered care approaches – facilitate the persons optimal function at every stage of dementia using their life stories and preferences
- Activities: Select and demonstrate meaningful activities for persons experiencing early to late stages of dementia
- How to assess neurocognitive changes and decline
- Overcoming challenges with bathing/showering: Build new and helpful techniques to overcome resistance to hygiene
- Overcoming challenges with oral hygiene and dental care
- Pleasurable dining and nutrition: Review how eating and nutrition change over time, and learn strategies to support pleasure and dignity during dining
- When the person with memory loss denies pain… How should you respond? Recognize verbal and non-verbal pain cues in persons with early to late stages of dementia and appropriate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches
- Care for the LGBTQ adult with and without dementia: Increase your sensitivity and awareness of the unique needs of this vulnerable population
- Dying Matters: Review advance planning strategies to honor a person’s end-of-life wishes including the POLST form (Provider Options for Life Sustaining Treatment).
Special Training Program
- Resident Attendant Training Program: Two-day workshop based upon the Illinois Department of Public Health’s requirements for certification. Create an opportunity for non-nurse/CNA’s to assist with feeding during meal times.
Community/Family Support Programs 1 hour sessions
- How to have a meaningful visit: Gain skills that will help family and friends spend valuable time with a loved one with memory loss
- Home safe home: Explore strategies to adapt the home environment to be safe and dementia-friendly
- Viewing family caregiving through a spiritual lens: Consider how the act of caregiving may develop inner strength, resilience and spiritual growth in previously unknown ways
- Create comfort and meaning at end-of-life: Describe and plan how the dying process can be elevated to a more comfortable and sacred experience
- Care for the Caregiver: Understand stress-filled triggers and strategies to prevent caregiving fatigue
- Addressing family conflict: Identify common sources of family conflict and intervening strategies
- Dying Matters: Review advance planning strategies to honor a person’s end-of-life wishes including the POLST form (Provider Options for Life Sustaining Treatment). Initiate your own advance care plan using 5 Wishes