In this edition

Welcome Australia!
1,000 and growing!
Free CEUS and Renewal Information
Congratulations to Care-One Rehabilitation Directors
Congratulations to Veterans Home of Stony Brook
NCCDP sets standards nationwide for dementia training
Last Train the Trainer seminar for 2006
Law Enforcement Alzheimer’s and Dementia Training
NCCDP provides grant for Project Life Saver
The Clinical Services Quality of Life Department completes Train the Trainer
Volunteers and Dementia Units

Welcome Australia

We recently held a Train the Trainer seminar in St. Louis and we were honored to have Cheryl Guy, a trainer from Australia, attend our seminar. She currently provides education programs and wanted to bring the NCCDP dementia training to Australia. We are excited that Australia chose the NCCDP for the training materials to be used to train their health care workers in dementia care. We look forward to getting updates regarding the trainings.

1,000 and growing!

2006 has been a phenomenal year for the NCCDP. We certified over 1,000 health care professionals who included Social Workers, Administrators, Nurses, Nursing Assistants, Activity Professionals, Consultants, Corporate Trainers, Geriatric Care Managers and Physicians. Word is spreading about our organization and our mission regarding dementia education. The NCCDP has taken a strong stand regarding the type of dementia education health care professionals are receiving in their communities. As a result, the quality of dementia education is improving. Traditionally, long term care facilities were relying solely on video training. Currently, the in-service directors and corporate trainers are now providing live instructor training and extensive dementia education. The change has also come about due to many states requiring extensive dementia training and specific number of hours for the front line staff. For example, in NJ, the New Jersey Department of Health sent out required dementia training modules to all NJ facilities which had to be completed with all staff by 2006. We have loaded many of the healthcare professional’s names on our web site who have obtained the distinguished certification of CDP. Not all professionals wanted their names posted. If, you don’t see a name and are verifying their CDP status, please contact us at 1 877 729 5191.

Train the Trainer Seminar

The Train the Trainer seminar will be held in Newark NJ on January 11th, 2007 from 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. and January 27, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV. There are a few seats left and we will accept late registration. Late registrations must be received by certified mail no later than January 4th for the Newark training and January 20th for Las Vegas. Please go to www.nccdp.org and click on Train the Trainer for a registration form.

We held several Training seminars in 2006 across the United States and those were held in Las Vegas, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., Newark NJ and New York City. Due to an overwhelming response across the nation, the NCCDP will be hosting seminars in 2007 on the west coast, mid west, east coast and Caribbean. We specifically will be scheduling training in Illinois and Texas due to huge number of requests. This year has also brought some incredible new trainers to the NCCDP. Please view our web site for a list of trainers or to find a trainer near you. The trainers can provide facility dementia training as well. See the calendars for a list of dates and locations for Alzheimer’s and Dementia seminars or Train the Trainer seminars.

Free CEUS!

The NCCDP has partnered with the Alzheimer’s Care Guide Magazine in providing free CEU’s for CDP’s only. Each month the NCCDP is providing a test for one article in the magazine. You must have a subscription for the magazine in order to take the test. You will find the subscription costs reasonable. Once you complete the test, the test is than forwarded to the NCCDP. The NCCDP will grade the test and if the health care professional passes the test, a certificate will be mailed to the CDP. One reason this was begun was due in large part to the huge amount of correspondence we received from nursing assistants who were not able to leave their facilities to attend seminars. Most seminars are held Monday to Friday, during the day. The NCCDP recognized the importance of finding opportunities for the Nursing Assistants to obtain their CEU’s. Many facilities have contacted us to report they are also using the article and test as part of their ongoing dementia education for their front line staff. The link for Alzheimer’s Care Guide is located on the NCCDP home page.

Renewal

The CDP renewal and Instructor renewal applications are posted online. Each CDP receives a reminder notice to renew their CDP two months prior to the expiration. To renew their CDP, they must complete 10 hours of dementia education and their certifications or license must be current and in good standing. Instructors must renew every two years.

National Standards Set by the NCCDP for Dementia Training

The NCCDP has set national standards for training front line staff in Alzheimer’s and Dementia. For many years, there was not enough information available for hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living and adult day care. Many organizations have done a fantastic job of gathering information and making it available but unfortunately it was not done in a format to be used as power point presentation or overhead presentations. Often times, the materials that were being presented were solely by video. The NCCDP recognized the need to set standards for front line staff training. The NCCDP strongly supports initial dementia training of all front line staff who works directly with residents in a health care setting. The NCCDP states, “per the standards, that the education modules should include but not limited to: Overview of Dementia, Pre Tests for Dementia, Medications, Communication, Stress and the Caregiver, Emotional Care of the Dying, End of Life Issues, ADL’s, Nutrition, Wandering, Hoarding, Sexuality, Activities, Difficult Behaviors, Paranoia, Hallucinations, Environment, Cultural Diversity and Spirituality.” At minimum the initial training should be 7 hours and yearly in-services by the Staff Educators, dealing with other topics related to dementia. It is important that front line staff receive continued training in dementia care. Several states have regulations that require over 20 hours of Dementia training and the NCCDP applauds those states for taking this action. For more information about the NCCDP Education standards please see our web site at www.nccdp.org

Congratulations to CareOne LLC Rehabilitation Directors!

CareOne LLC a leader in trend setting recently sent all Rehabilitation Directors from 24 long term care settings and assisted living to Alzheimer’s and Dementia training. Upon completion, all 24 Rehabilitation Directors applied and received their Certification as CDP’s. Mr. Tim Hodges, Vice President of CareOne recognized the need for dementia training and the importance of their Rehabilitation Director’s additional training in Alzheimer’s and Dementia. CareOne has long term care and assisted living communities in New Jersey. They have been recognized for the outstanding services provided by their Rehabilitation departments. Congratulations for recognizing the importance of trained staff!

HealthBridge Corporation rehab directors completed the Alzheimer’s and Dementia training and completed certification for Certified Dementia Practitioner. Healthbridge has facilities through out CT and MA.

Long Island Veterans Home of Stony Brook NY

Long Island Veterans Home recently held 5 training seminars for their front line staff. To date 80% of their line staff are certified CDP’s. The state of New York recently gave funding to provide Alzheimer’s and Dementia training. We were much honored that the Veterans Home selected the NCCDP to provide the extensive training. Each training, had aprox 100 participants. Each participant received an extensive hand out notebook. The hand out notebook is very important part of the training seminar as the students have hands on resources to utilize on a daily basis when providing care. Mr. Fred Sganga, Executive Director recognized the need for intensive dementia training with his front line staff. In most nursing homes, the dementia population is about 80%. Recognizing this statistic, Mr. Sqanga contracted with the NCCDP to provide the training.

Essex County Sheriffs Department to receive funding for Project Lifesaver

The NCCDP provided grant funds to the Wallerstein Foundation to assist with funding for Project Lifesaver to benefit Essex County NJ Sheriffs Department. The NCCDP provides as part of their Alzheimer’s and Dementia training a module on Wandering. Through the NCCDP research on Wandering and ways to prevent elopement, the NCCDP became aware of Project Lifesaver wanted to insure that one of the largest counties in NJ with the most long term care facilities, had Project Lifesaver. The funding is expected to be given by the Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement to the Essex County’s Sheriffs Department later this year. Project Lifesaver has an impressive track record for locating missing residents who have wandered away from a care setting. You can make a donation for Project Lifesaver to Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement and the address is 200 Executive Drive Suite 100, West Orange NJ 07052. Please note on the check: Project LifeSaver.

Law Enforcement Training for Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Law Enforcement agencies across the country have contacted the NCCDP to provide training for their states. Across the country, the police departments are responding to more and more calls regarding residents wandering away from home or a long term care setting, often with tragic results. Often times, when they do find the dementia resident, the police are not prepared to deal with communication and confusion issues. The police departments wanted more information on dealing with difficult behaviors and responding to repetitive questions or questions where a resident is ‘back in time”. For example, they were unsure how to respond to an 85 year old man who was seeking to go to work. Another area of concern when responding to calls in homes is recognizing abuse or neglect in the family home. Law enforcement wanted better tools to not only recognize abuse and neglect by the care giver but also by the family member with dementia. The NCCDP provided a 7 hour training seminar dealing with many issues and also provided a large hand out notebook. The training has been well received. For law enforcement who are interested in contacting the NCCDP regarding law enforcement training they can email us at nationalccdp@aol.com or call toll free to 1 877 729 5191.

The Clinical Services Quality of Life Department completes Train the Trainer
Andi Ludington and Ed McMahon

The Clinical Services Quality of Life Department has just been certified as Instructors for the National Council of Dementia Practitioners. The Council has accepted our Enabling Freedom Program as substantially meeting their requirements for certification with the addition of two modules.

This enables each of the Directors of Quality of Life to offer certification through our 3 day Enabling Freedom Program. Each participant who completes the requirements of the course will apply for and receive national certification as a C.D.P. (Certified Dementia Practitioner) and may use those initials in their official capacity.

The Mission of the NCCDP is to promote, encourage and enhance the knowledge, skills and practice of all persons who provide care and/or services to Dementia clients by means of requiring excellent standards of education, Dementia specific training and incentives for professional development of those who are dedicated to the ever growing field of Dementia Care.

The course work covers areas relating to the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, methods of communication, depression and repetitive behaviors, paranoia, hallucinations, wandering and hoarding.
The course work also delves into aggressive behaviors, catastrophic reactions, intimacy and sexuality.

In the area of activities of daily living, the course covers personal care, bathing and dressing, toileting and nutrition as well as identifying and treating pain in persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Programming, the environment, staff and family support, diversity and cultural competence as well as spiritual care and end of life issues are explored in depth.

This additional certification will continue to set Golden Ventures apart from other providers of dementia care and increase the sills and competence of or Alzheimer’s Care Directors. This is just one more way in which Golden Ventures intends to be the leading provider of dementia care service to the skilled nursing population.

Volunteers and dementia Units

Many facilities have volunteers but most do not assist on the Dementia Units. Some times it’s because of the stigma associated with the dementia unit. The dementia units perhaps are the one area of the community that needs the most help. We recommend that you reach out to your current volunteers and explain ways they can volunteer on the dementia unit. When recruiting new volunteers, it is recommended that you advertise the many ways volunteers can assist on the dementia unit. Some suggestions are, Friendly Visitor, Walking buddy, Reminisce Volunteer, sing a longs, spirituality, crafts and cooking volunteer, horticulture volunteer. Volunteers can also assist in the dining programs with either passing trays, tray set up and sitting with residents who need queuing to eat.

Volunteers should receive extensive training in Dementia, just like the front line staff. The volunteers need to know how to respond to difficult behaviors, repetitive questions, breaking down tasks, communication, etc. All volunteers should be introduced to any resident with a history or potential for elopement and the interventions in place should be explained to the volunteer. However, the volunteer should never be shown the resident’s chart.

One great resource is a book called Best Friends and it’s available through the National Alzheimer’s Association web site www.alz.org

We recommend this newsletter at www.activitytherapy.com as they have a wealth of information, free resources and products for dementia. In the last newsletter they wrote about toxic plants and toxic aroma therapy that are used in sensory rooms. We recommend that every facility read their latest issues on these topics.

Upcoming Seminars:
For upcoming seminars please see www.nccdp.org and go to the calendar. The calendar is updated daily by the NCCDP approved instructors who are now nationwide. You can view the complete list of instructors at the web site and click on Instructors.

Show Your Support for Education:
For those facilities that support dementia education of their front line staff are welcome to post their support by adding their facility name to our home page. Simply email us the name of the facility and the web site to nationalccdp@aol.com

Please feel free to post this newsletter on your web site or email it to a colleague.

Enjoy the holiday season,

Lynn Biot Gordon LCSW, CDP
Sandra Stimson CALA, ADC, CDP
Lisa Reidinger LNHA, CSW, CTRS, CDP

NCCDP SPONSORS