Right now, an estimated 6.9 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia. That’s 10.9 percent of the 65+ population in the U.S. While Alzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia diagnosis, those statistics don’t cover the full range of dementia diseases including frontotemporal, Lewy body and vascular dementia.
The National Institute on Aging estimates that about one-third of all people age 85 or older may have some form of dementia.
Which means that in any senior living community, regardless of size or levels of service offered, staff will need the skills to interact with and care for seniors with dementia. Dementia training for caregivers in these communities gives them the knowledge and skills they need to meet each person where they are on their unique journey and truly enrich their quality of life.
Why prioritize dementia training for caregivers
On a practical level, dementia training is key to having a safe residential care community. For instance, according to the Alzheimer’s Foundation about 6 in 10 people who live with dementia will wander, that is become lost and confused about their location, at least once. It can happen at any stage of the disease.
In a community setting, confusion and wandering can lead to incidents that are at best concerning and at worst life-threatening. Good dementia training for caregivers will help them identify those at risk of wandering. It will also help staff reduce stress and anxiety in the person with dementia and de-escalate crises that might result in injury – to that resident, another resident or even a caregiver.
Dementia training, by empowering staff with the skills and knowledge they need, can build a team’s confidence, which can help with employee retention and satisfaction. It will also give the care team a standardized set of actions, communication patterns, and responses to residents with dementia. This makes the team as a whole more efficient and effective in their caretaking.
Dementia training for caregivers benefits staff and residents alike
When caregivers gain a thorough understanding of the changes resulting from dementia and the various stages of Alzheimer’s, they learn more than how to assist a wandering resident and respond to difficult resident behaviors. Trained staff understand that by being person-centered, putting each senior at the center of the interaction, results in less anxiety and worry for the resident with dementia. It also helps staff reduce their own frustration when the resident engages in repeated behaviors like exit seeking and unusual physical movements.
Good dementia training for caregivers will include The Validation Method, which our Alzheimer’s and dementia care education tools cover. The Validation Method is a person-focused way of communicating with someone who has dementia. The concept is that rather than trying to bring the person with memory loss back into our reality, it’s better to enter their reality.
One example of effective communication is connecting with a resident and understanding the possible sources of agitation for them. This makes it possible for the caregiver to mitigate the cause and creates positive interactions between the caregiver and the resident, building trust and restoring dignity.
Dementia training for caregivers is so vital that SeniorLivingU offers the Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia Care Seminar, the official class required for those pursuing Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) certification through the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (NCCDP). The course is taught live and virtually, and delivers nationally-recognized and accredited, dementia-led training. It’s part of our newly enhanced Anytime Learning Portal.
Caring for a resident with dementia can be frustrating. There are challenging behaviors to deal with, safety concerns, and communication difficulties. But offering teams dementia training for caregivers gives each team member the chance to build their own skill set, improve their confidence, reduce their stress, and enhance the lives of residents in their care.
Experts in dementia training for caregivers in assisted living communities
Designed by senior living experts, SeniorLivingU provides convenient education tools for all levels of retirement community staff. Our products cover a wide range of topics in formats designed to meet your needs (manuals, DVDs, and online learning through the Anytime Learning Portal) including certificate programs in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
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