Dementia 101
March 16, 2011 at 10:30 am | Posted in Joanne Jordan, Office Manager | Leave a commentTags: Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia, Education, Health, Love, Memory
As Office Manager of Distinctive Care, I love learning new things every day. Last week I had the privilege of attending a full day seminar by renowned dementia expert Teepa Snow. Even though I’m not a geriatric care manager, I know that the more I learn about dementia and aging, the better equipped I’ll be to support our clients and their families.
I came away from the seminar with a greater understanding of the devastating effects dementia has on brain structure and function. Of course I knew about the effects of Alzheimer’s on memory, but I now know that vision and hearing are also greatly affected as the disease progresses. Ms. Snow showed us how to experience the reduced field of vision by using our two hands to make “binoculars” to look through, and that as caregivers, we need to respect that compromised field and adjust our approach accordingly. She went on to explain how depth of vision is destroyed as well. Both of these effects contribute to an added risk for falls. Hearing also declines from stereo to monaural, which can be disorienting.
One of the lasting points Ms. Snow made concerned the sometimes frustrating conversations we have with our loved ones who repeatedly ask the same question, or insist on arguing a point with us. She reminds us that it’s not the outcome of any one encounter that matters most—it’s the relationship that counts. A loved one with dementia may not remember the facts you tell them today (even if it’s the 17th time you’ve done so) but they will remember the emotions they felt during your encounter. Sometimes, it’s just not worth being ‘right’.
Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management serves Bergen, Passaic, Rockland and Orange County with nurses licensed in New Jersey and New York. We help families dealing with various issues related to their elderly loved ones and would be happy to discuss any concerns you may have related to long term care. Please contact us in our Ridgewood Office at 201-587-5283 to schedule a consultation.
Dementia Education at Distinctive Care
March 7, 2011 at 10:30 am | Posted in Pat Linard, PR | Leave a commentTags: Aging, Alzheimer's Disease, CEU, Dementia, Education, Seminar
We’re not just about geriatric care management at Distinctive Care. We’re also about teaching and learning about dementia so that we can provide the best geriatric care possible. Here is a sampling of our educational programs that are happening at Distinctive Care. If you’re from Bergen or Passaic Counties in New Jersey or Rockland County in New York, call us and we’ll teach you all about dementia care, too.
Distinctive Care is offering another new program! Sophia Heftler, RN, CMC, CALA and CDP® (Certified Dementia Practitioner) is available for an in-service entitled Dementia and Validation Therapy which is perfect for staff at nursing homes and other facilities for the older adult. This 45 minute presentation gives an overview of dementia, risk factors, and current treatment options. It explains the use of validation therapy to enter the world of the patient with dementia as a means of dealing with and managing behavioral issues. Call Pat at 551-580-5639 for information or to book a class.
Sophia will be speaking to the Upper Saddle River Foundation on the topic of Benefits of Exercise in Preventing/Slowing Dementia this Thursday, March 10. So what can be learned from this seminar?
Sophia will present research that shows that not only does exercise reduce the risks of physical problems such as heart disease, but it also slows down memory loss as a person ages. The amount of confidence and pleasure of appropriate exercise also boosts the mind and spirit and even walking can provide improvements in memory, language, and visual skills. It’s bound to be an informative and interesting presentation which we would be glad to present to your church or community group.
Dementia and the Hospitalized Patient will be presented at The Hospital for Special Surgery this Wednesday by Sophia. This 2.0 credit CEU for nurses, social workers, Certified Assisted Living Administrators and Licensed Nursing Home Administrators covers the different forms of dementia, the stages of Alzheimer’s disease, diagnostics for diagnosis, current pharmacological treatment and non-pharmacological symptom management. The effects of hospitalization on elderly patients with dementia and techniques for dealing with dementia patients, as well as community resources, are also reviewed.
So, as you can see, dementia is an important topic with Distinctive Care!
Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management serves Bergen, Passaic, Rockland and Orange County with nurses licensed in New Jersey and New York. We help families dealing with various issues related to their elderly loved ones and would be happy to discuss any concerns you may have related to long term care. Please contact us in our Ridgewood Office at 201-587-5283 to schedule a consultation.
Validation Therapy
March 4, 2011 at 10:30 am | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | Leave a commentTags: Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia, Education, Help, Therapy, Validation Therapy
In my earlier post I talked about the stigma associated with nursing homes. Today I thought I would share with you the experience I had in providing sensitivity training to the staff of a local nursing home. This particular nursing home is a facility that Distinctive Care makes referrals to, so we know they are a high quality facility. The fact that the administrator (who has been with the facility for 8 years) and the Director of Nursing (who has been with the facility for 7 years) decided to bring this program in for the staff is telling with regard to the fact that they are dedicated to ensuring the best of care for the residents with dementia.
Validation Therapy is the brainchild of Naomi Feil, a social worker. It is a process in which the caregiver doesn’t try to change the person she is caring for, but instead changes herself and actually enters the world of the person with dementia. Reality Orientation, which is a technique used in the past, is no longer used when the resident with dementia is asking for her mother who has been deceased for more than 40 years because researchers have determined that this causes the resident to relive the painful memory. Validation Therapy is not the same as “therapeutic lies” because, as Ms. Feil discovered, the person with dementia knows on some level that she is being lied to and this creates an environment of mistrust toward the caregiver.
Validation Therapy is used to validate the feeling behind the behavior the resident is displaying and to provide empathy and understanding, creating a feeling of trust and assisting the resident to resolve open issues they have in their lives before they die. It is not something that one can master overnight, but the interest and openess of these caregivers to learn about this technique and to incorporate it into their practice was amazing. The level of care and concern they showed during the inservice I provided was amazing.
They have promised me they are going to give it a try. A big part of Validation Therapy is asking questions of the resident to determine what the feeling behind the behavior is, as all behavior has meaning. As I was leaving the facility I heard a caregiver ask a resident who was repeatedly asking for her mother if she felt scared. The resident responded that she felt lost and scared. The caregiver then asked what her mother used to do for her in the past when she felt lost and scared. The resident replied that her mother used to rub her back and sing to her. The last thing I noted as I was walking down the hallway was the caregiver rubbing the resident’s back. She really understood what Validation Therapy is all about; I was very proud.
Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management has many in-services available for staff in facilities throughout New Jersey. If you are interested in bringing one of our programs to your staff please contact Pat Linard, our Director of Community Relations who will be able to provide you with a list of our current programs or let you know if we can customize a program based on your needs. She can be reached in our Ridgewood office in Bergen County at 201-857-5283.
Make Your Memory Work for You
January 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm | Posted in Pat Linard, PR | Leave a commentTags: Aging, Alzheimer's Disease, Cognitive Ability, Dementia, Eldercare, Memory, Prevention, Tips
We’re looking forward to a busy year at Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Of course, care management is always our primary focus and we want to provide the best care for our elderly clients as our nurse care managers can. But we also feel strongly about giving back to the community through free community presentations and CEU’s for nurses, social workers, Certified Assisted Living Administrators and Licensed Nursing Home Administrators.
We had a fairly busy schedule last year. Our Maximizing Your Memory presentation got rave reviews at many of the senior centers throughout the area. It covers all aspects of dementia including Alzheimer’s. But it also puts the older adults’ minds at ease when they find out that forgetting where you put your keys is not a sign of dementia. (But forgetting what you use your keys for is.) We offer many tips on how to prevent dementia whether it is through activities both physical and mental, or diet and medication. So we are starting 2011 with this presentation at another Bergen County senior center, the Bergenfield Senior Center,on January 20 at 11am. The facility is open to the public so call Tara at (201) 387-7212 if you want to attend. We always enjoy seeing all the seniors, too, and hope you will join us.
Memory Screening
November 29, 2009 at 10:00 am | Posted in Sophia Heftler, GCM | Leave a commentTags: Alzheimer's Disease, Cognitive Screening, National Memory Screening Day
Distinctive Care participated in the national memory screening day again this year on the 17th and had the opportunity to screen and evaluate many people. While a large majority of the people we saw were older adults this was the first year that I saw several people who were in the fifties participate. Intrestingly enough one of these people presented with significant memory loss, indicative of dementia. As most of our readers know the first thing I advise people who score in this category is to see their physician to rule out reversible causes of dementia, which can range from something as simple as dehydration or a vitamin deficiency to something more complex as undiagnosed dementia. So, while it may be very scary to hear, this person is armed with important information to bring to her primary care physician to start a dialogue and begin the process of determining whether she may have a reversible cause of dementia. Personally, I have my own theory about her results. Because she is a caregiver dealing with the challenges of caring for her father who has Alzheimer’s Disease, she is under a great deal of stress. Based on a series of questions I asked her, I do think that she is suffering from depression and it is my hope that with treatment her cognitive impairment will resolve.
The staff of Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management evaluated many people that day, discovering impairment in a great deal of them. The good news about this is that these folks will be following up with their physicians to obtain an accurate diagnosis. What’s very important is that for those who are ultimately diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common form of dementia, will have access to the medications available that may slow the progression of the disease and will be able to develop and implement a plan for their future.
Early diagnosis is so very important and although it is often difficult to encourage your loved-one to participate in a memory screening because of the denial and fear they are experiencing as they too notice the changes in themselves I encourage you to work with them to convince them to agree to a screening.
Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management includes a cognitive exam in all of our initial assessments, but we also offer this exam as a seperate service. If you are only interested in this service, please do not hesitate to contact in our main office, in Ridgewood, New Jersey. We can do the assessment in your loved ones home environment and serve northern New Jersey and Rockland County, New York. Please contact us at 201-857-5283.
Mark Heftler
Sophia Heftler
Pat Linard
Christine Clark, GCM
Joanne Jordan, Office Manager
Amy Shein, GCM
Deborah Varisco, GCM
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