Dementia Specialist Consulting

09/21/2019

To all my colleagues who have experienced personally how hard it actually is to make the change to
I also hear your your surprise, exasperation & frustration about how inhumane sometimes people are treating each other especially our vulnerable elderly population with dementia!

I still believe that ALL administrators/management for any LTC facility AL & memory care, as part of the on-boarding process, should be required to spend “at least” 2 weeks living as a “dependent client”, directly on their units, to gain some understanding & empathy for the clients AND staff that are affected by every decision they make in their office!
Dependent client meaning (not able to use the bathroom without staff assistance, and forced to experience the indignity of soiling your pants solely because there was not enough staff to assist you in a timely manner,)

Many times, as I have consulted with others, to assess their dementia programs, when I mention their units are severely understaffed and need additional specialized training, that of course means they have to commit to re-appropriate their funding to the most critical need for higher staff ratios, ongoing training and staff support,
Unfortunately, they usually say “Thanks” and I never hear from them again!

Please let me know your ideas or suggestions, (things that have worked for you) to bring ALL members of the staff together, (WITH THE SAME GOAL) to significantly improve the level & quality of care provided to our most vulnerable seniors! We can only CHANGE The Outcome, if we commit to that change from the top down and play on the same team with the same goal!

A THOUGHT TO PONDER!! How many highly trained & fairly paid staff could be added to every memory care if we just re-appropriated 1/3 of the money spent in building amenities that our clients with dementia canNOT use without the staff to assist them??

Let our reputation be built on the Superior Quality & Quantity of Individual Personalized Care that will ONLY come from MORE staff time spent with your loved ones meeting their emotional, spiritual & physical needs, with respect & dignity, and enhancing their overall quality of life in their last years!!

09/21/2019

To all my colleagues who have experienced personally how hard it actually is to make the change to
I also hear your your surprise, exasperation & frustration about how inhumane sometimes people are treating each other especially our vulnerable elderly population with dementia!

I still believe that ALL administrators/management for any LTC facility AL & memory care, as part of the on-boarding process, should be required to spend “at least” 2 weeks living as a “dependent client”, directly on their units, to gain some understanding & empathy for the clients AND staff that are affected by every decision they make in their office!
Dependent client meaning (not able to use the bathroom without staff assistance, and forced to experience the indignity of soiling your pants solely because there was not enough staff to assist you in a timely manner,)

Many times, as I have consulted with others, to assess their dementia programs, when I mention their units are severely understaffed and need additional specialized training, that of course means they have to commit to re-appropriate their funding to the most critical need for higher staff ratios, ongoing training and staff support,
Unfortunately, they usually say “Thanks” and I never hear from them again!

Please let me know your ideas or suggestions, (things that have worked for you) to bring ALL members of the staff together, (WITH THE SAME GOAL) to significantly improve the level & quality of care provided to our most vulnerable seniors! We can only CHANGE The Outcome, if we commit to that change from the top down and play on the same team with the same goal!

A THOUGHT TO PONDER!! How many highly trained & fairly paid staff could be added to every memory care if we just re-appropriated 1/3 of the money spent in building amenities that our clients with dementia canNOT use without the staff to assist them??

Let our reputation be built on the Superior Quality & Quantity of Individual Personalized Care that will ONLY come from MORE staff time spent with your loved ones meeting their emotional, spiritual & physical needs, with respect & dignity, and enhancing their overall quality of life in their last years!!

08/31/2019

I just returned from 3 weeks in Kenya visiting family & friends. I had an amazing time sharing fellowship with the residents of a home for elderly.

02/21/2019

PREVENTION of Challenging Behavior
What I was wishing would have been identified in other training is that “Prevention” of the challenging behavior is the most important piece and identifying the “underlying cause” of all behavior which is almost always unmet “emotional needs- THE FEELINGS! I.E. fear, anger, frustration, sadness, grief, pain, annoyed, lost, embarrassed or scared to death being in a strange place with strange people, which is experienced by all persons with dementia etc.
ALL BEHAVIOR is an attempt at communication of an unmet need, and most AL/ memory care don’t get this.

The Underlying Emotional Need is the first”thing you MUST discover & address. Many have been focusing on
changing /controlling their environment and enhancing activities etc.

SEVERE UNDER-STAFFING & LACK of STAFF TRAINING on “these specific techniques”, & Oversight and Support of direct staff by Licensed RN’s ARE the other CRITICAL pieces necessary to meet unrecognized underlying emotional needs and PREVENT BEHAVIOR! Not talking about this piece and just treating behavior is why there is over-medication with psychotropic drugs that not only can make behavior worse, it puts the resident at risk of debilitating falls.

I see many big providers spending millions of $$$ on ramping up their memory care buildings with movie theaters, ice cream parlors, exercise rooms, wood shops etc, and what they don’t appear to understand the fact that, unless they ramp up staffing and provide “appropriate” & ongoing staff training, Focused on Prevention, those extras will not be used by persons with advancing dementia. Even earlier stage dementia brings with it, a loss of interest, embarrassment and most residents usually will not initiate or will actually refuse to participate in activities.

I do offer Liaison services to providers that are interested
Please contact me with any questions about this model
320- 267-1384

10/29/2018

Thanks Linda for posting this! Great reminder of days gone by. I miss making a difference in the residents lives, along with ALL my incredible staff! They ARE my Hero’s!

Judy Berry I'm thrilled today to share with you a pdf of an article that is not available anywhere...