AGE-u-cate Training Institute Blog

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

Caregivers are a unique group of people.  Naturally nurturing and compassionate, such empathetic traits can also lead to complex challenges.  Creating healthy boundaries is especially tough when you are the type of person that wants to help.  Learning when to say yes and how to say no is essential for caregivers to stay physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy.

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, caregivers, leadership, caregiving, Faith Community, Boundaries, Caregiver Health

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

Stress Reaction is a term being used more often to describe communication in persons living with dementia.  Behavioral expression, too, is communication.  In a growing number of circles, the term behavioral expression is being replaced by stress reaction simply because behaviors sometimes leans toward being a negative descriptive of how persons with dementia express unmet needs.

Topics: dementia care, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, dementia, Care Partners, compassionate touch, Dementia Live, leadership, Hospital Professionals, Stress, AGE-u-cate Training, Behavioral Expression, communication

From the conversations I have every single day with our partners, I'm guessing most of you would give yourselves an adequate score at best.  And perhaps this is on a good day.  "Empowering Your Caregivers" - some of you might just be asking what exactly I mean by empowering caregivers.

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Training, dementia, caregivers, Dementia Live, leadership, Hospital Professionals, turnover

Far too often I talk to family caregivers who are concerned about their loved one's cognitive decline.  It is not uncommon to hear such explanations go something like this:

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, dementia, Family, caregivers, Dementia Live, Hospital Professionals, family caregivers, Depression, families, older adults, health, Pseudodementia

We have a family caregiving tsunami whose tidal waves are affecting every corner of our society.  I venture to say that most communities are not prepared for the domino effects of a fast-aging population let along to provide support to their families that are scrambling to stay above water - emotionally, physically and financially.

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, aging services, Family Caregiver, Family, caregivers, leadership, Alzheimer's disease, caregiving, Faith Community, family caregivers, support, National Family Caregivers Month

I have to be direct in asking - isn't this every elder care community's goal?  After all, we should be in the compassion business, and sustainability is the hot topic today.  Creating a sustainable culture of compassion - makes sense right?

Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, compassionate touch, leadership, Hospital Professionals, Compassion, eldercare, elder care, sustainability, staff

What would life be like if you stepped into the world of a resident in long-term care?   Perhaps it would awaken us to the fact that they see things much differently than we do.  Maybe it would make us understand their experiences, challenges, and thought processes.  Do you think that we might be more empathetic?  Gosh, I hope so.

Topics: Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, dementia, Caregiver, leadership, Hospital Professionals, resident needs

Dementia Friendly Fort Worth recently sponsored Remember This, a participatory performance experience by the Texas Tech University School of Theatre and Dance.  Created and produced by Dr. Tyler Davis, Genevieve Durham DeCesaro, Rachel Hirshorn-Johnston, and Dr. Annette Sobel,  Remember This is about changing the conversation about dementia.

Topics: The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Training, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, dementia friendly, Faith Community, Dementia Friendly Fort Worth