AGE-u-cate Training Institute Blog

With today’s emphasis on person centered care, communication skills are essential. Any senior care or hospice professional regularly interacts with people with communication challenges stemming from brain injury, stroke, hearing loss; Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease.

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, Senior Care, empathy, Person centered care, Hospice, communication

Feelings linger.

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, Memory Care, memories, Family

Compassion fatigue impact

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, Senior Care, Hospice, compassion fatigue

Stories are worth sharing

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, Senior Care, stories, empathy, touch

Words have power - handwriting on a napkin with cup of coffee

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, culture change, Caregiver, Hospice care, Hospice

Elders in senior care have something to teach us about the importance of touch. Have you ever comforted a crying baby?  How did you sooth her?  Chances are you held her close, stroking her back while gently rocking her.  We feel naturally drawn to comfort infants with caring touch.  It is through touch that we convey warmth, safety, love and acceptance.

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, Senior Care, ageism, touch

As the world becomes increasingly ethnically blended senior care professionals are called upon to care for people from diverse cultures. This is true in hospitals, clinics, long term care, hospice and home care.  To create person centered senior care it’s important to develop multicultural sensitivity while respecting cultural differences of individuals, families and groups.

Topics: Person-centered, Senior Care Professionals, Senior Care, Professional Caregiver, competence

Some think compassion is an attribute reserved for people like Mother Teresa. But compassion isn’t just reserved for those who travel a moral high ground.  Hospice care professionals cultivate compassion for when they are called to the bedside.

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, Caregiver, Professional Caregiver, Hospice care, Hospice

Anyone working in the field of senior caregiving knows how important it is to find meaning in our work and service. Author Simon Sinek tells us to Start with Why. I’m haunted by the memory of a man who reminded me of why I continue to love senior caregiving.  I met Frank in a nursing home where I was teaching a Compassionate Touch workshop.  I first noticed him because he wasn’t particularly old, at least not by senior care standards, and because he was tall and muscular. He was sitting in a corner in the hallway near the nurse’s station. By his appearance, I was pretty sure he had suffered a stroke some time back.

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, Senior Care, care staff, Professional Caregiver, caregiving

Learning is just the first step in dementia care training.

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, CMS dementia training, dementia care training