“As a caregiver, I can speak to the fact that life is intense,” says Traci Edmondson. Edmondson is the dementia care specialist for Calumet and Outagamie counties in Wisconsin. She also cared for her husband …
dementia friendly communities
Making Hospitals More Dementia Friendly: Case Studies
The following is an excerpt from the “Planning for your hospital” section of the Dementia Friendly Hospital Toolkit developed by CARE and clinical and research faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing. As …
The Importance of Being Open: One Alumna’s Transition to Practice and Beyond
Five years ago, Kathryn Gerber, BSN, RN was a junior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing, volunteering with the Watertown Dementia Awareness Coalition. “Before this experience, I knew what dementia was, but I …
Flex that Memory Muscle: Three Partners Promote Healthy Aging
“Today we’re continuing to focus on strategies that help us maintain and even improve our brain health,” says University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing student Laura Block. “Today’s brain health strategy is sleep,” says Block, …
Crafting Tools for Dementia Friendly Care and Communities
Charlie holds up a prescription bottle and looks at the pharmacist, confused. “You are not due for a refill on your metoprolol,” says the pharmacist. “I refilled this medication for you Tuesday. Remember?” “I need …
Helping Students See the “Invisible Patient”: Family Caregivers
“If Alzheimer’s is bad, ignorance of the disease is worse,” says family caregiver and former Wisconsin Governor Martin Schreiber. Since his wife Elaine was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s 14 years ago, Schreiber has struggled with …
Supporting Direct Care Staff: You Know Your Residents, We Know the Research
Direct care workers meet the daily needs of older adults in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and continuing care retirement communities, and greatly impact the care provided by hospitals and home health agencies. Yet most have limited access to educational opportunities. The CARE conference is changing that.
Making Communities and Future Professionals More Dementia Friendly
“I had never considered working with older adults because I thought it would be sad and depressing, but now I have completely changed my mind.” That was the impact on one University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduate …
Creating Dementia-Friendly Health Care Organizations
“What is person-centered care?” asked Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, an occupational therapist and nationally renowned dementia care educator with clinical appointments at Duke University’s School of Nursing and the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill’s …
The Fox Valley Memory Project: Creating Dementia-Friendly Communities
“People love to feel ‘normal,’” says Betty Lefebvre-Hill, MSE, the Fox Valley Memory Project’s Program Coordinator. “They want to get out and have the type of experiences they’ve enjoyed their whole lives, but then felt …