Transforming Dementia Care

Dr. Harry Morgan explains the different types of dementia

Recently, I had the privilege of participating in a remarkable two-day summit for leaders in dementia care: Transforming the Future of Dementia Care, hosted by the Alzheimer’s Resource Center, an AAHSA member located in Plantsville, Con.

Drawing in dementia expert speakers and attendees from throughout the Northeast, the summit represented the culmination of Center staff member Kelly Papa’s Leadership AAHSA Action Learning Project, merging the principles of Building a Learning Organization with transformational leadership and a person-directed approach to dementia care.

Topics covered during the summit included transforming dementia care, leadership branding, fostering empathy, inspiring innovation, building a learning organization and leveraging strengths and talents.

For 20 years the Alzheimer’s Resource Center has worked to transform dementia care by challenging commonly held beliefs about people with dementia and developing approaches to care that are based on each individual’s capabilities rather than disabilities.

One of the Center’s early innovations was the creation of five stage-specific residential care communities that includes 13 residents in an Assisted Living Community and 120 residents in four distinct Skilled Nursing Care Communities.

Staff recognize that individuals with dementia benefit from an environment, staff expertise and activities tailored to meet their needs, and that these needs change during the course of the illness.

Thus, each stage-specific community is designed to address the unique cognitive, physical and therapeutic needs of mild, moderate and advanced stages of dementia. 

Moreover, staff are specially trained to support families as their relative transitions to each stage-specific level of care.  The Center’s motto, “We live it with you,” supports its guiding philosophy of offering hope at every stage of the disease.

The Alzheimer’s Resource Center’s impact on dementia care far exceeds the organization’s “foot print” in Connecticut. Leading through empathy, innovation and education, the organization serves as a valuable consulting resource to dementia care professionals across the country.