Opening Plenary Presentation

P01 - Creating a Dementia Capable System

Richard Elbein, CEO, Alzheimer's Association - Houston and Southeast Texas Chapter

Dementia is unlike any other disease in aging care, and providing quality memory care services affects all teams within the organization--from nursing to housekeeping, dining to security.  

This presentation will explore the demographics information, national and state policies, and the shocking statistics that are pushing memory care initiatives across the country.  Beyond this, learn what a dementia diagnosis means in our care system and our society, and the resources needed to make a community 'dementia capable'.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the statistics and economic impact of Alzheimer's and dementia on America
• Define 'dementia capable'
• List the top services that may benefit someone with Alzheimer's/dementia
• Identify a list of professions that would benefit from workforce training in dementia care
• Describe the key components of a dementia-friendly community, and the what dementia-friendly care may look like for a variety of communities

Track: Administrative and Executive
E01 - Staffing for Memory Care

Dayne DuVall, LMT, CAEd, CRTS, Chief Operating Officer, National Certification Board for Alzheimer Care
Aysha Kuhlor, RN, BA, CDONA/LTC, Founder/CEO: National Council of Post Acute Care Practitioners, Vice-President, NADONA/LTC

Lynn Biot-Gordon, MSW, LNHA, CDP, CADDCT, Client Operations Officer, National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners

Moderator: Pamela Tabar, Editor-in-Chief, Long-Term Living

It takes a specialized, motivated, patient, and highly trained individual to join the staff of a quality memory care unit.  Assembling a team of star caretakers starts well beyond the basics, with executive teams and DONs specifically needing to know the latest accreditations and training programs required to provide the best person-centric care possible.

Staff must understand aspects of nutrition, pain management, social interaction, assessment, and how each of these areas changes within the memory care unit depending upon diagnosis.

What constitutes a “certified” dementia care staffer? How do you know who to hire and what training to invest in? How do execs weigh the choices between retraining current staff and hiring new staff?  Answer all of these questions in this in-depth panel discussion.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the top credentialing, education, and certification requirements for staffers seeking employment in a memory care unit
• Outline the knowledge base required for memory care staff members
• Illustrate how dementia can impact a typical care plan in areas like nutrition, social interaction, and assessment
• Formulate viable training approaches for staffers who may encounter pushback on activities related to hygiene and pain management

Track: Clinical and DON
E02 - Measuring ADLs Amid Memory Care

This session discusses the unique issues involved in measuring and documenting the required activities of daily living for residents with memory care challenges.

Don't miss compliance and assessment expert Leah Klusch, as she defines how memory care units must take a dramatically different approach to ensure appropriate payment and care management for residents with dementia.  Break down the key concepts and components of ADL assessments, what the memory care staff must absolutely know when completing these assessments, and what to look for when monitoring performance and scoring over time.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the key factors in assessment that need to be understood by direct care staff caring for elders in Memory Care
• Review the components of the ADL Assessments that can indicate functional changes in elders with cognitive decline
• Discuss the importance of frequent review of ADL performance and support provided scores so care planning and payment are accurate

Morning Plenary Presentation

P04 - How to Effectively Deploy a Non-Pharmacological Memory Care Program:  Bridging the Gap of Neuroscience and Supportive Living

Joshua J. Freitas, M.Ed,  CADDCT, CAEd. , Corporate Director of Memory Care and Resident Engagement, LCB Senior Living, LLC

This session will address how non-pharmacological interventions as well as quality associate training may be a more effective strategy for treating those with memory loss.  Attendees will explore how behavioral color therapy may create a more supportive living environment and how to deploy communication approaches that have long-term effects on the person and sustain cognitive functioning.  As part of this session, attendees will develop a better understanding of dementia, a better ability to connect with someone with memory loss through contemplative care practices and how to engage a person with memory loss in a good quality of life.

Come learn how The Dementia Concept was created through research and evidence-based practices as well as the progressive research between Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and LCB Senior Living on mindfulness and cognitive rehabilitation.

Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish how the philosophy of color can increase resident engagement, appetite, attention, and in some cases even cognitive function.
• Explain how resident engagement changes the body on a macular level and how research suggests that it may slow down (and in some case reverse) our aging process and even signs and symptoms of dementia. 
• Recognize how our environment changes our brains through a term referred to as neuroplasticity. You will develop a basic understanding of Epistemology (the way we view the world) and how it affects your brain (and the brain of someone with dementia).
• Develop a better understanding of Epigenetics and how it controls the course of dementia as well as how resident engagement changes our DNA.
• Examine the latest programs suggested by LCB Senior Living, LLC, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and how they improve the quality of life and sustain resident skills and abilities through a Habilitative environment

   

• Outline an innovative philosophy for memory care based on a person-centric model that aims to preserve personhood and recognize the person’s remaining abilities
• Explore essential features within the environmental design of memory care units or neighborhoods that promote safety, security and engagement for persons with high levels of cognitive needs.
• Explain how meaningful living is designed to affirm dignity, choice and independence focusing on the `person’ to incorporate continuity throughout their life and encourage positive interactions.
• Discuss the importance of dementia-specific training for all care providers and how this highlights the need to adapt to meet the evolving work responsibilities for memory care.

Track: Clinical and DON
E06 - Memory Screening: Testing Protocols for Detection and Monitoring

J. Wesson Ashford, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University

Screening, assessment, and evaluation are at the heart of the modern memory care unit.  A number of the latest tools and methods for screening can serve as a key touch point between staff, resident, and family-- allowing for continuous improvement of case management beyond the entry of standardized ADLs.

In this session, review the latest screening protocols both pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis that further effective care and management of those with dementia.  Learn how memory screening and monitoring can estimate ADL needs for placement and care, the scientific and clinical approach behind these tools that effectively evaluate cognitive function, and why these programs have become a staple for top care organizations nationally.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the indicators of cognitive deterioration and dementia, from the earliest difficulties with forming new memories to the late loss of the oldest memories, and understand the basis and time-line of this progression
• Appreciate the needs and cost-effectiveness considerations for cognitive impairment screening which led to the Congressional requirement for cognitive evaluation as part of the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit
• Examine the wide range of instruments to detect cognitive impairment in older adults, including screening for memory difficulties and assessment of dementia severity
• Outline reasons for choosing a particular cognitive screening/assessment instrument for a particular care setting, including becoming aware of very brief computerized tools for assessing memory
• Relate cognitive impairment and level of dementia severity to corresponding losses of activities of daily living function, which will impact care planning and provision of care

• Explain the role of the DON in implementing culture change programs in the skilled nursing facility
• Explain how culture change can be effective from the lens of the interdisciplinary team
• Discuss challenges with memory care program implementation
• Discuss how to incorporate the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement program (QAPI) with memory care.