AGE-u-cate Training Institute Blog

 

Topics: dementia care, dementia, dementia friendly, dementia training, dementia education, Dementia Awareness, dementia care training

With NBA's basketball season in full swing and NFL's Superbowl around the corner, no one doubts the incredible impact a good coach has on developing both the physical and mental strengths that lead to the success of sports teams. Today, coaches are proving their value in a diversity of areas: Whole Life Coach, Communications Coach, Wellness Coach, Career Coach, Weight Loss Coach, Business Coach, and even Relationship Coach.

Topics: dementia care, dementia training, dementia education, dementia care training

In the sea of dementia care training, leaders can be overwhelmed when evaluating options. This article provides practical guidance if you are just getting started in creating a dementia training program or if you are re-evaluating current practices. 

Before you learn the six components that define quality dementia care training, I'm going to discuss four fundamental truths: 

We Must Educate, Engage, and Retain Employees

Aging service providers are experiencing dangerously high staff shortages that impact the quality of care, employee retention, and family satisfaction. These together directly affect the bottom line. 

Studies reveal a correlation between the lack of investment in care team education and turnover, with staff reporting feeling ill-prepared for their work with older adults, especially those with memory loss. It's time for a change!

Topics: dementia care, dementia training, dementia education, dementia care training, dementia programming

The team here at AGE-u-cate recently ran a poll on this very question. Of the following options, including online learning, experiential training, peer-to-peer mentoring, and "other". The clear winner was experiential training, coming in at 77%, followed by peer-to-peer mentoring at 23%. 

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Dementia Live Training, dementia care training, Communication Skills Training, experiential training

There are many definitions of threshold that are worth discussing before we jump to the meat of how it relates to dementia training.  

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Dementia Live®Training, Direct Care Workforce Training, workforce training, dementia care training, Communication Skills Training, caregiver education, Skill Building

Empathy is being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes for a while so you can imagine what they are going through, leading to a deeper understanding of their feelings and behaviors. 

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Dementia Live, Empathetic Listening, dementia care training, Communication Skills Training

In previous blogs, I've discussed the proven benefits of Dementia Live® as a powerful and effective experiential foundational training experience.

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Dementia Live®Training, leadership, Professional Caregivers, dementia care training, Communication Skills Training, staffing

To elevate dementia care practices, care partners must first understand dementia and how persons with dementia feel challenged with cognitive and sensory changes. Dementia Live® simulates cognitive and sensory impairment, giving participants first-hand experience living with dementia. 

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Dementia Live®Training, leadership, Quality of Life Training, dementia care training, Dementia simulation, Communication Skills Training, Skill Building

In dementia simulation programming, there's a lot to say about what makes Dementia Live stand out. Since its launch in 2015, the team here at AGE-u-cate® has spent more time listening to our client partner's needs than talking. The result?

A program that is indeed what our tag line says: Proven. Powerful. Effective. Tag lines can get wordy, so we'll discuss another significant benefit:

Dementia Live is incredibly flexible.

As empathy and skill-building training, Dementia Live brings together a transformational experience, care partners empowerment session, and practical tools to professionals and families across the aging care spectrum. The team at AGE-u-cate believes that EVERYONE needs to better understand dementia.

We are at the crossroads of unprecedented growth in our aging population, which will continue to affect every aspect of our society. Therefore, aging and dementia education is necessary for breaking the cycle of ageism and exclusion for persons living with cognitive changes. Our provider partners are key catalysts to offer this critical dementia awareness experience and education to the world.

Dementia Live coaches receive organized, easy to deliver training which allows them (provider organizations) to take the Dementia Live program beyond the walls of their own organization. We provide the tools and resources to adapt to ever-changing circumstances, such as a virtual version of the Experience developed in response to the COVID pandemic. This Virtual Dementia Live Experience allowed providers to continue to use the program as an outreach education tool while social distancing restrictions were in place. Here's what The Alzheimer and Parkinson Association of IRC had to say about AGE-u-cate's pivot to a Virtual Experience during Covid. 

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Dementia Live, Dementia Live®Training, leadership, dementia education, Dementia Awareness, dementia care training, Dementia simulation

Dementia training is serious business. As we grapple with the exponential growth of people living with dementia, aging services providers are looking closely at programs that will improve outcomes for their residents, clients, staff, families and support business goals.

The AGE-u-cate team has been hard at work since the launch of Dementia Live® in 2015 to deliver a program that meets the complex needs across the spectrum of aging services to serve better those living with dementia and their care partners.

Proven.
 
Integrated by over 800 organizations and agencies in the United States, Canada, and Australia, Dementia Live® has a robust value in the aging services industry. This evidence-informed training program is guided by science-based experiential learning and microlearning strategies. Placing the learner directly in touch with the realities of living with dementia, they gain more profound levels of understanding and knowledge and receive practical skill-building tools and techniques that effectively improve care and quality of life for care partners.

Powerful.

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Dementia Live®Training, leadership, dementia education, dementia care training, Dementia simulation