The Staff at Visiting Angels of Douglasville Train in a Positive Approach to Care to Help Seniors Struggling with the Challenges of Alzheimer's and Dementia

The Visiting Angels nursing team recently completed Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care (PAC) to be able to provide our caregivers with training on how to better care for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Our nursing team has learned care-partnering methods like Positive Physical Approach™ (PPA) and Hand-under-Hand™ (HuH) guide and assistance. At Visiting Angels of Douglasville, we strive to conduct the most up-to-date training available with our caregiving team. The Teepa Snow approach is just one of the many continuous education initiatives we participate in regularly. Being able to ensure top-level care practices allows our caregivers to grow in knowledge and our clients to benefit from that knowledge.

The GEMS System

Teepa developed the GEMS® system, which is a ranking structure that, instead of using a numbering system, uses the names of six unique gems: sapphire, diamond, emerald, amber, ruby, and pearl. This ranking structure helps determine how to handle the challenges people with different forms of dementia face and how to utilize the special abilities they retain. This gives caregivers a better understanding of what capabilities people with dementia still have. Knowing this will better equip our companions with the knowledge on how to give elders with dementia the care that they need.

“Using our talents and abilities to develop awareness, knowledge, and skill with all people,” Teepa states, “will transform what exists into a more positive dementia care culture.”

 

 

About Alzheimer's Disease

Did you know that Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are not the same? Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia, which refers to a type of memory loss that is severe enough to affect daily activities and quality of life. According to the Alzheimer’s Association about 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 suffer from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is so common that every 67 seconds, someone in the United States is diagnosed. It is so common that one in nine Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s disease.

Visiting Angels of Douglasville provides Alzheimer's Care services that can help manage caring for someone who is suffering from memory or other cognitive challenges. If you have a loved one who has Alzheimer’s or dementia, contact our office today to learn about how we can help.