Celebrating 100 Years with Virginia Bell

June 30, 2022 marks the 100th birthday of Virginia Bell, one of the most influential thought leaders in the field of dementia care over the last four decades, who continues to this day to improve the lives of people with dementia and their caregivers. HPP sat down with the legendary author, speaker, and advocate to look back on 100 years and look forward towards the future of dementia care. What influenced you to start your career later in life? What motivated you to choose to work in dementia care? I received my undergraduate degree in math and chemistry but as…

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‘At Last I Found You:’ The Powerful Effect of Namaste Care

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and HPP will be joining organizations across the nation to raise awareness for hospice and demonstrate its importance. In our Hospice Perspectives Series, people share their stories of hospice care. While these stories do feature death, they also feature profound hope, compassion, comfort, and joy. They will touch your heart and provide invaluable insight into palliative care and the end of life.  This story is written by Joyce Simard, social worker, internationally recognized speaker, author, and creator of the Namaste Care™ program. In dementia care, stuffed animals and dolls are not for…

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“I hate my body alarm!” Maintaining Safety and Dignity in Long-Term Care

Created by an administrator struggling to jump-start culture change in her care community, Through the Looking Glass is a unique program that changes staff attitudes and teaches the importance of person-centered care practices by placing staff directly in the shoes of residents—with remarkable results. Here, program creator Leslie Pedtke tells the story of Leah, a CNA who participated in the program, who had to wear a body alarm,, and the weight of the lessons the experience taught her.

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The Link Between Age-Related Hearing Loss and Dementia

By Guest Blogger Joan McKechnie, BSc, Hons Audiology & Speech Pathology from www.hearingdirect.com.  The estimates for people who are hard of hearing and/or deaf across America vary from 22 million to 36 million. The figures are based on statistics from The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is under the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the U.S. Census Bureau. There is no statistic showing the cause for hearing loss amongst these groups, but based on other western counties, age related hearing loss, as well as noise induced hearing loss are likely to be the…

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Comfort in Counseling for People with Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease

An early-stage Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis can feel devastating, yet there is hope and support available. Robyn Yale, who pioneered some of the first available support groups for people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, discusses the healing powers of counseling for people who have received an early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Her book, Counseling People with Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease: A Powerful Process of Transformation, provides practitioners with an innovative therapeutic model specifically designed to meet the unique needs of clients living with Alzheimer’s. The book’s counseling methods not only help people cope with and adjust to…

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A Lesson in Leadership in Person-Centered Elder Care

Author and Nursing Home Administrator, Nancy Fox, shares the moment she realized the reason many older adults fear nursing homes, and the two elders who showed her why. Nancy Fox is a Nursing Home Administrator, former executive director of The Eden Alternative, and Chief Innovation Officer for Vivage Senior Living. She is also the author of Lessons in Leadership for Person-Centered Elder Care. Here, she shares a leadership lesson she learned while vacationing on Sanibel Island, after years spent transforming her organization into a person-centered care environment. “She fell and can’t get up…” In…

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The Validation of Mrs. Trew

Creator of the Validation method for dementia care, Naomi Feil tells the story of an unforgettable older woman who was her childhood friend, and how she impacted her life and life’s work. Validation is a method of communication with people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, developed by Naomi Feil in 1967. It has been adopted worldwide, and used to reduce stress, enhance dignity, and increase happiness. Caregivers who use the Validation techniques focus on the expressed feelings of older adults, rather than focusing on disorientation and confusion. Here, author Naomi Feil shares her inspiration for her…

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The 12 Essential Components of an Orientation Program

High employee turnover is one of the greatest challenges facing long-term care communities today. Without consistent staffing, care communities and their residents suffer the serious consequences of inadequate care, unnecessary expenses, and inefficient operations. Using these 12 components as the core of your orientation will form the basis of a thorough and effective program.

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Why Increased Productivity Will Help Your Healthcare System in Organizational Changes

According to leadership interviews with the Harvard Business Review, healthcare executives are concerned about the future of their industry. As the United States transitions to a new Presidential administration and Congress, questions about where healthcare systems go from here are brought to the forefront. The consensus of the interviewed executives (associated with Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Virginia Commonwealth, and the University of Utah): the challenges will be both financially and managerial difficult. To succeed in transforming the healthcare system, it will be necessary that organizations develop new business models and undergo organizational changes. And this large undertaking…

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