AGE-u-cate Training Institute Blog

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Training, Dementia Live, Aging Service Provider, Quality of Life Training, aging, dementia training, older adults, Workforce, Direct Care Workforce Training, REVEAL Aging, staff

 

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, dementia care, Senior Care Professionals, dementia, compassionate touch, Dementia Live, AGE-u-cate Training Insitute, turnover, dementia training, employee training, AGE-u-cate Training, home health

blackboard against red barn wood

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, Training, dementia, Family, caregivers, Dementia Live®Training, leadership, Hospital Professionals, professionals, elder care, education, families, understanding, dementia training, older adults, dementia education, home care

More than 5.5 million people across the United States are living with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.  As the baby boom generation ages, the numbers are projected to grow at alarming rates.  Although state dementia training requirements vary greatly, overall requirements are expanding for certified nursing assistants, administrators, licensed practical nurses, health aides, personal care assistants and law enforcement and emergency personnel.

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, Training, compassionate touch, Dementia Live, Hospital Professionals, CMS dementia training, Assisted Living, dementia training

High staff turnover in long-term care is certainly not a recent phenomenon.  Going back to the 1970s studies pointed to average turnover rates for registered nurses (RNs), licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) ranging between 55% - 75%.  With growing demands for these professions as our aging population explodes, many providers are reporting upwards of 100% turnover.  Many factors need to be addressed - one being how we are preparing this workforce to work with the growing numbers of older adults with dementia? Leaders have many options for dementia training.  What do we hear most often?  Keep it simple and engage the learner!

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Training, dementia, leadership, Hospital Professionals, Employees, turnover, dementia training, Workforce, staff

There is an urgent need to equip caregivers to better respond to and care for persons living with dementia.  Traditional training models have focused on the number of classroom hours an individual must spend in training, assuming that a person who completes the required training hours is ready to work successfully with people living with dementia.  The shift to competency-based training improves dementia care by focusing on mastery of tasks and tools that are learned.

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, dementia care, Senior Care Professionals, care staff, dementia, caregivers, compassionate touch, Dementia Live, leadership, Hospital Professionals, dementia training, staff

Losing sleep, poor eating habits, irritability or short tempered - these symptoms may start small and snowball quickly into what is referred to as caregiver burnout.   Professionals and families need to know what to look for and how to help caregivers.  It's a serious matter and growing, as more families are caring for their loved ones at home with little or no help.

Topics: The Faith Community, AGE-u-cate Training Institute, dementia care, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, Senior Care, Dementia Live, Hospital Professionals, Stress, Burnout, Alzheimer's Association, elder care, education, resources, dementia training, Area Agencies on Aging

Dementia is everyone's business.  After decades of being relegated to an issue of institutionalism,  the idea that people living with dementia can have a quality of life is a huge step in furthering education, awareness and acceptance for  millions of Americans that are affected by dementia.  The Dementia Friendly Community movement is making great strides in bringing opportunities to change attitudes, actions and our thinking.

Topics: The Faith Community, AGE-u-cate Training Institute, The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Aging in the Workplace, aging, dementia training, Master Trainers, Dementia friendly community, Advocacy

New CMS dementia training regulations to enhance person-centered care practices. Any new regulation makes us quiver. More paperwork, increased oversight, complex guidelines. But the new CMS dementia training requirements under Section 483.95 is one step closer to creating communities focused on person-centered care.
Training will be extended beyond nurse aides to include all staff.
This is huge! It only makes sense that if nurse aides receive quality dementia training that this include therapy, social services, dietary, dining services, management, volunteers and contracted employees. When everyone who interacts with that resident or patient is trained in communications and responding to behaviors, we will see culture changes taking place, more accurate accountability and outcomes tracking and a more satisfied workforce.
Innovative dementia training across the long term care spectrum is growing exponentially as eldercare becomes more about dementia care.
Leaders should be looking not only at core competency training but how their education and training will be integrated and serve as an ongoing team building and staff development tool. What measures will be established to ensure that staff empowerment is taking place, particularly in the challenging areas of communications, understanding resident rights, abuse prevention and behavioral health.
Workforce retention is a hot topic and promises to be at the top of the list for many years. If training programs do not use tools and techniques that will empower and instill confidence in skills, encourage new ideas (that we listen to and implement!), we will see far too many front line workers leave the senior care industry. None of us can afford to see this happen.
What a great time to reassess where we've been in the areas of staff training and ongoing education for all of our stakeholders, and we include families and our local community when we look at the far reaching effects that dementia has at all levels of our society.
New regulations are the impetus for us to change our thinking and this is exciting!

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