What To Do When Nothing Else Works

Hello everyone, You’ve tried distractions, music, walking, going outside, changing caregivers and adjusting schedules. Nothing seems to work with this resident who consistently has challenging behaviors related to dementia. Some caregivers may even tell you that they can’t handle the person anymore. What do you do? The answer may just be—YOU. You may be the […]

Tips for Integrating Person-centered Approaches into Care Plans

Hello everyone, Many of you are working on integrating more person-centered approaches into your care plans, and looking for ways that GNAs and other staff can easily access information about the social histories and preferences of residents, which is critical information when caring for people who have dementia. Those “golden nuggets” of information can help […]

Does One Hand Know What the Other is Doing?

Hello everyone, Last week we highlighted the importance of communication between caregiving staff and people with dementia. We are also learning about another challenge you face: improving communication between your nursing assistants. While nurses have a change of shift report to update the incoming nursing staff about medical issues with residents, CNAs rarely have the […]

Pay Attention to Apathy

Hello everyone, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil” is a well-known proverb. In terms of challenging behaviors, the man running down the hall naked or the woman crying loudly at lunch generally get our attention more quickly than the quiet lady in room 101 who likes to keep to herself and “isn’t any trouble.” In […]

Promoting Positive Interactions

Hello Everyone, In addition to the information we provided about inappropriate sexual behavior in last week’s tidbit, Dr. Elizabeth Galik, one of the investigators on our study, has written an article on this topic for Bottom Line Health. You can read it online here: https://bottomlineinc.com/health/memory/dementia-and-inappropriate-sexual-behavior This week, we’d like to discuss how to approach a […]

Respecting choices-Improving the lives of persons living with dementia

Hello everyone, You are likely familiar with the idea of person-centered care. In the long term care setting, person centered care promotes residents’ choices, increases their sense of purpose, and provides a greater personal connection for those who need assistance from others with daily tasks. An important part of providing person-centered care involves learning the […]