Category: Elder Rights

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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Q&A with Stephen Golant, Ph.D.

Q&A with Stephen Golant Author of Aging in the Right Place Stephen Golant, Ph.D. is a professor at the University of Florida (Gainesville). His research focuses on the housing, community, mobility, transportation, and long-term care needs of older adults populations and he writes and lectures extensively on this topic. Known as a expert in aging and housing, he is frequently called on by corporations, universities, state government agencies, and national organizations as a lecturer and adviser. HPP sat down with Dr. Golant to discuss aging in place, and whether it’s the right choice for everyone.

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Moments Add Up and Make a Difference

We’d like for you to consider the following two scenarios. As you read them, we think you’ll begin to see how persons with dementia have many of the same needs that we do and how being a Best Friend can be a powerful tool for supporting quality of life. Scenario 1 Imagine meeting an old friend for lunch and finding your normally upbeat, positive friend in tears. As a friend, how would you respond? You would probably: Ask her what is wrong. Try to get more information. She tells you that she has been laid off from a job that…

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4 Tips to Decrease Bullying

People who rarely interact with older adults can often perceive that the population is composed primarily of sweet little grandmas and grandpas who get along well with one another. So it is surprising to learn that bullying behaviors actually occur among older adults—especially in senior programs and senior living facilities. Interventions to address bullying among older adults must consider what older adults themselves have to say about potentially effective strategies, especially given that they may witness bullying incidents more often than staff members do. Assisted living residents offered the following suggestions for how senior living organizations can decrease bullying and…

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The Shocking Phenomenon of Senior Bullying

Bullying is not an experience limited to childhood… When thinking of bullying, most people would picture schoolyard taunts, childish games, perhaps even being pushed and shoved—but certainly nothing that goes beyond grade school. However, new research has shown that bullying is not an experience limited to childhood, but is an epidemic occurring with an alarming frequency among older adults as well. Bullying among peers in senior programs and care settings (such as nursing homes and retirement communities) results in profoundly negative effects on the elders, the staff, and the community in which it is occurring. But little is known about…

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It’s Time to Revolutionize Elder Care

Dr. Al Power, award-winning author and internationally renowned geriatrician, opened the 2016 Eden Alternative International Conference with his keynote address focusing on the conference theme: It’s about time. Always an eloquent speaker, Al presented the audience with four points, all prefaced with, “It’s about time we…” Groundbreaking and possibly even controversial, the ideas presented here are entirely person-directed (the absolute core of culture change). Dr. Power presents his ideas with examples of model communities who adopted these practices—across the board, there was an increase in improved lives of elders in dementia care facilities. The…

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