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What is our Dementia Care Program?
Caring for a loved one with dementia is difficult, but you're not alone...
Caring for a loved one with dementia is often very difficult, with family and other caregivers experiencing high levels of both physical and emotional stress. In an effort to alleviate some of this anxiety, VIA Health Partners has created a specialized care plan for patients diagnosed with dementia, which also includes support and education for caregivers.
The extensive training provides tools to physicians, RNs, nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers and includes instruction on increasing or maintaining a patient’s quality of life, appropriate pain and symptom management, and Advance Care Planning (i.e. Living Will, Health Care Power of Attorney). There is even social support for caregivers.
We have trained clinical staff to understand the symptoms of dementia and we have introduced a pain assessment tool specifically designed for patients with impaired communication. These teams also work with therapeutic sensory kits containing aromatherapy scents and tactile stimuli, incorporating items reminiscent of their patients' childhood or career, music from their youth, and more. These kits are designed to stimulate the brain and increase communication with both the care team and family members.
Call us at 704.487.4677 for more information or to schedule a consultation.
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Making an impact with iPads
Sometimes the best medicine is unexpected, as we've found within our iPad program...
Our staff have had great success using iPads with specific applications to interest patients with dementia. Social workers use iPads with specific applications that have produced interaction with patients. Over the past several years, we have seen amazing results. Even our most unresponsive patients have interacted with the iPads that have been brought to visits. A diagnosis of dementia can be frightening for a family, but this new program offers a glimpse of the loved one they know is still there.
This initiative is being implemented in homes, assisted-living communities, and skilled nursing facilities. We believe that this new program will make a significant impact in the end-of-life care that our patients with advanced dementia receive.
In order to offer even better care to our patients living with dementia, VIA Health Partners has a goal of purchasing iPads for all of our social workers to use with this project. You can help us reach this goal by making a gift to fund this meaningful project.
Thank you to the Mecklenburg Medical Alliance & Endowment for their grant to support "Positive Approach to Care," a hospice training program that provides volunteers and staff with a deeper understanding of dementia and dementia related behaviors.