The New York Times recently published an article titled Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, Even Chocolate. The article discusses ongoing research on how to best treat Alzheimer’s disease, and a few enlightening approaches from different programs.
The article states “There’s actually better evidence and more significant results in caregiver interventions than there is in anything to treat this disease so far,” said Lisa P. Gwyther, education director for the Bryan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Duke University.
At the Beatitudes Campus of Care in Phoenix, AZ the program allows Alzheimer’s patients to do what they want, when they want, without a lot of restrictions. Whether it involves eating, bathing, even drinking, everything is acceptable.
Unusual? Yes, but according to the article, Beatitudes is actually following some of the latest science. Research suggests that creating positive emotional experiences for Alzheimer’s patients diminishes distress and behavior problems.
Our caregivers are highly trained in the many aspects of dementia, as well as given many appropriate ideas to use as a means to provide care at home that is meaningful, keeps our clients out of harm’s way and provides respite for family members. Working together – support services, families, home care and residential living environments, we continue to learn and share how best to allow this very special population to live their life as they wish with dignity and safety.
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It’s good to know this stuff. But I still want to know the caregiver’s background. Where are your caregivers come from? What kind of training did you use to train your caregivers? Is it just the usual way to treat those who have Alzheimer with the normal patients?
Thank you so much for such a great question. This is a question not asked often enough.
Our CAREGiver recruits or applicants come to us from a lot of different places: our web site, personal and professional referrals, medical schools and colleges, they see something we are doing in community education and contact us, or they respond to a specific recruiting. We have a very detailed application and screening process, including in depth background checks, DMV checks, drug tests, and interviewing processes.
Some of our CAREGivers are very experienced C.N.A.’s or retired LPNs, others have had personal experiences taking care of a loved one. The one thing they all have is the heart and the passion for this kind of work – for caring for people. They have to have this heart and passion because we can teach everything else. The last test of the pre-employment process is the litmus test, it is the biggest test of all: “would I let you take care of my mom?”.
Our training for all CAREGivers, regardless of their experience, begins at orientation and continues through four core CAREGiving classes before our CAREGiver is assigned to a client. We have on-going training for all CAREGivers on subjects relative to the industry on a regular basis. For CAREGivers servicing clients with higher levels of needs, we have Personal Care training and Alzheimer/Dementia training.
Our Alzheimer/Dementia Training in one of a kind state of the art training developed by the George G. Glenner Alzheimer Family Centers (University of California San Diego School of Medicine) specifically for Home Instead Senior Care, specifically for non-medical CAREGivers. Our CAREGivers are taught about the disease, the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on clients and on families. They learn the stages of the disease, what to look for, what to expect, how to manage difficult behaviors, ways to effectively communicate, ways to modify the client’s environment to keep them active and safe, to not create excess disabilities, and most importantly, how to engage their client, in life, everyday. We provide more than just simple supervision, we are providers of the simple joys of each day.
And we don’t just leave off there either. We are happy to share and teach family caregivers how to work with and continue their loved one’s routines in effort to help reduce the family’s stress levels and provide a continuum of care for their loved one.
In 2003, the American Society on Aging (ASA) awarded Home Instead Senior, Inc. with Small Business of the Year for developing and implementing the Alzheimer CAREGiver Training Program with the Glenner Centers. This is the highest honor the ASA bestows on a private company.