Educational Project Aims to Improving Quality of Life for People with Dementia

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CATEGORY: News and Community
PUBLICATION: Clinical Connections

 

​Hospice of the Western Reserve is engaged in a two-year educational project in collaboration with healthcare providers, community organizations and both professional and family caregivers to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia.

More than six million people in the U.S. are living with some form of dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, more than from breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. From January through November of 2018, 26.6 percent of our patients served had a diagnosis of dementia. This does not include those with a caregiver who may have dementia or an age related cognitive decline.  

“In addition to those receiving palliative care or hospice, on a personal level, many of us care for loved ones living with dementia or know someone who is or who will be providing care in the future,” said Jennifer Stonebrook, Director of Access to Care, who is co-leading the initiative with Denise DiMare, RN, Clinical Team Leader.

Dementia Northern Ohio Collective Formed
In collaboration with the Ohio Council of Cognitive Health and Dementia Friends Ohio, HWR has created a new focus group called the Dementia Northern Ohio Collective. Participants include partner healthcare providers, assisted living facilities, community agencies and caregivers.

“The collective’s focus is on generating ideas to improve quality of life for people with dementia in our region and improving access to caregiver resources and support,” Stonebrook said. “We will discuss innovative approaches, what is working well and barriers to ideal care. We’ll dialogue about how we can work together to improve life along the care continuum.”

Dementia Friends Caregiver Training
As part of HWR’s partnership with the Ohio Council for Cognitive Health, Carole Klingler, RN, BSN, Team Leader and Community Facility Coordinator for the Lorain County Office, completed training to become a Dementia Friends Master Trainer for the State of Ohio. In 2019, she will lead in-person Dementia Friends sessions to help educate Hospice of the Western Reserve team leaders and both professional and lay caregivers about the personal impact of dementia and what they can do to help.  

The Dementia Friends USA initiative is administered by Dementia Friends Ohio. The organization’s vision is that by helping everyone in a community understand what dementia is and how it affects people, each of us can make a difference for people living with dementia.

Editor’s Note: For more information about this initiative, contact Stonebrook: jstonebrook@hospicewr.org, or 216.383.3701.

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