AGE-u-cate Training Institute Blog

Healthcare is quickly becoming dementia care. Whether you work in a clinic, long term care, home care, or hospital, you will interact with people dementia.  And these people will likely have speech and language challenges.  Dementia care training often focuses on the underlying impairment when care partners really need practical solutions.  Easy-to-learn dementia communication skills, save both parties frustration. Here are a helpful strategies.

It’s no secret that memory care is one of the fastest growing senior care service, providing healthcare professionals increasing opportunities. But, if you are new to dementia care, I suggest you ask: “Am I really prepared?” and “Do I have what it takes?” Serving people with dementia requires a unique combination of knowledge, skills and personal awareness.

Be Informed
Knowledge gives you a foundation to act from. When informed, you can offer your care with confidence and ease. It’s essential to be informed about the characteristics and needs of people with dementia, such as:

• Age related changes. It is important to understand the “normal” physical and functional changes of aging versus changes that are manifestations of a disease resulting in symptoms of dementia.
• Common conditions found in eldercare settings. If you work in long term care, you will encounter people living with the effects of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, hip fracture, cancer, among others. A basic understanding of these conditions will ensure that you provide safe, effective and meaningful service.
• Special needs of elders in facility care. Those who live in care settings are often dealing with loss, grief, feelings of helplessness, lack of control, boredom, touch deprivation and feelings of isolation. Your awareness and compassionate acknowledgement of these sensitive issues will deepen your therapeutic relationship with each individual.

What the heck is Winfield and what does it have to do with this blog? There are some things in life that so nourish our souls that they should become non-negotiable. For anyone whose career is taking care of others, that should be a commitment to our own wellness. Nurses, social workers, family caregivers, therapists, activity professionals, chaplains, you name it—we’re all in the same boat when it comes to self-care.  How we each “do” self-care is a personal choice. My choice is Winfield!

The Walnut Valley Festival is a five-day music festival that, since 1972, takes place in Winfield, Kansas on the third weekend of September. The first time I went was in 1977 when I was a college student. I’ve been back almost every year since! The folks who make the journey simply call it “Winfield”.  You see, it’s not just a place or an event, but an experience that got in my heart and didn’t let go.  So why would a middle-aged woman want to camp in a field in a tent in 100 degree weather, rain, mud –this year the river has flooded the area-- cold and even a tornado a couple of years ago? Oh, and packed in with 12,000 other people? The awesome music heard 24 hours each day? Yeah, but that’s not it.

There’s a little quip that I’ve heard in senior communities that goes something like this; “I’m looking for Mrs. B., can you tell me what she looks like?  “Yes, she’s the one with gray hair and glasses!”  Not that original, really, but you get the picture.  I’ve often been struck with profound awareness when I enter the dining room of a nursing home. At first glance it looks like a sea of gray heads and everyone sort of blends together. The quip suggests these old folks all look alike so they are alike and have morphed into some other kind of creature.  At what point do we become one of “them”?  I have a psychologist friend who counsels young children.  She once told me that she’s effective because she doesn’t talk down to the kids or treat them as “pre-people”.  Something about her comment rings true and, by comparison, I think we live in a society that views our aging population as “former people”. When do we lose our individual identity and become a former person?

It's 10:30 in the morning.  Your job is to facilitate the reading of the morning newspaper to a group of dementia care patients and you have a choice as to how to best carry it out.

Option #1. You gather a group of thirty or so people into a large circle while you summarize the newspaper headlines and articles aloud.

Option #2.  You gather a group of five around a small table. Each holds a copy of the paper, turning the pages while one, or more, read the headlines, taking the group in a multitude of conversational directions.

As the leader, which would you choose?

Now put yourself in the place of a person living with dementia and imagine you have difficulty, integrating sounds, figuring out the environment, seeing and hearing who is talking and wondering if they are even talking to you.

Most of us don’t give much thought to items we use in our everyday lives. But the memories of these seemingly benign objects reconnect us with moments of meaning in our lives.

When elderly people spend time in a hospital, they often leave more disabled than when they got there. That’s pretty stunning considering the condition they may be in when admitted.  Some of the most common reasons for hospitalization are injuries from a fall, pneumonia, infection, cardiovascular disease and dehydration. Treatment of the acute condition frequently doesn’t include special care needed to prevent rapid, and sometimes irreversible, physical and mental deterioration. Weakness from bedrest, weight loss, adverse drug reactions, delirium, and hospital-acquired infection are all too common. At a time with people 65 and older make up the fastest-growing segment of our population, our hospitals should take notice. Fortunately, some are. Special services such as the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit exist, but in only small number of our 5000+ hospitals in the U.S. What’s different about this specialized care? There’s a greater emphasis on maintaining mobility and preventing functional decline, cognitive assessment, a communal dining room to encourage better nutrition and social interaction, early discharge planning, and staff with training in geriatrics play key roles. I’m glad to see that hospitals are addressing this pressing issue, but wonder if it’s enough to prepare for the sheer number of us baby boomers beginning to need this kind of care.

What happens when an eldercare professional becomes a family caregiver?  This situation hit home when my husband had a cycling accident and fractured his hip. I was surprised by my reaction to suddenly becoming his care partner, juggling the role of home nurse, personal care attendant, meal provider, and problem solver of getting around in our two-story house. Somewhere in the mix I was also moral support and empathizer. The first week centered on creating a new routine, helping with pain management and personal care. Oh, and wound dressing changes. I quickly was reminded why I never became a nurse, calling a nurse-friend in a panic because the dressing from the hospital was stuck to the wound and I was sickened by pulling it off! If I’m perfectly honest, I felt angered at times by this turn of events that intruded our lives- I didn’t have time for this! It didn’t help seeing my active husband now using a walker- making him “old” to my eyes, bringing up fear about what’s to come as we age.

What is it about skilled touch that decreases distress for those living with dementia that can lead to behavioral symptoms?  Common responses include decreased aches and pains; sensory stimulation resulting in increased body awareness; relaxation; aids sleep; decreased feelings of loneliness; uplifted mood.