Our Dementia Care Approach

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At Premier Care Management, we specialize in providing personalized support for individuals and families affected by dementia. Our approach is tailored to each person's unique experience, recognizing that dementia affects everyone differently. We focus on understanding the specific needs, preferences, and challenges of both the individual with dementia and their caregivers.

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We begin with a thorough assessment, evaluating the individual's physical, cognitive, and emotional abilities. We review their daily schedule, including activities and socialization, and carefully examine medical records, medications, and other health conditions. This allows us to organize their healthcare into a clear summary to share with providers, ensuring that appointments and follow-ups are properly managed. The assessment may include standardized tools like the MoCA or Mini-Mental Status Exam to determine where the individual is on the dementia spectrum.

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Based on this information, we develop a personalized care plan that focuses on their strengths while identifying potential negative triggers. We then create positive motivators that encourage cooperation and better outcomes. We work closely with the caregiving team to share the best strategies for delivering the most effective care.

We also understand the stress dementia brings to family members. Our goal is to improve family interactions and help strengthen emotional connections, making the caregiving process less overwhelming.

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Managing care for a loved one with dementia can be challenging, but with the support of a Premier Care Manager, you don't have to navigate it alone.

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Dementia Care Coaching Services

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If you're caring for a loved one with dementia, finding the right help and support can be overwhelming. We understand the daily care challenges you're facing, coupled with the other life stressors that are normal in daily living. We commend you for the love and care you have extended to your loved one.

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At Premier Care Management, our greatest passion is helping you receive the support and guidance you need. Our experience and expertise in assisting those with dementia has proven to be life-changing as we provide real solutions that reduce stress for both caregiver and loved one with dementia.

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With years of experience successfully working with families and their loved ones, we have created a comprehensive Dementia Care Coaching approach that provides significant improvement in health and wellness outcomes for caregivers and their family members with dementia.

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Dementia Care Coaching: A Studied Approach to Improved Care

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According to a study conducted by The National Institutes of Health and the US National Library of Medicine, family caregivers and patients who received Dementia Care Coaching experienced significant improvement in overall health and wellness outcomes.

In the intervention groups studied, Dementia Care Coaches provided individualized education, counseling, and support over a 12-month period and sent copies of care plans they developed with family caregivers to primary care physicians. The study also measured improvements in caregiver self-efficacy for managing dementia, caregiver depressive symptoms, and caregiver burden.

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Key findings from the study:

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Dementia patients whose family caregivers received Dementia Care Coaching were less likely than their control group counterparts to be admitted to a nursing home.

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Caregivers who received Dementia Care Coaching reported greater satisfaction with the care they gave and showed improved self-efficacy for managing their loved one's care.

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Caregivers who received Dementia Care Coaching also showed significant improvement in their overall well-being. Their family member's quality of life improved, and the caregivers were more satisfied with the care and support they provided.

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How Our Dementia Care Coaching Program Can Help You

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We provide compassionate expertise in understanding the progression of dementia and identifying, recognizing, and validating the feelings and emotions of both the person with dementia and the family member or caregiver.

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We help you understand the stages of dementia and how it is presently affecting your loved one. There are commonalities in the course of the disease process, and we will help prepare you for what is coming next.

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Assist with the team approach by coordinating with physicians, allied professionals, and paid caregivers to ensure that the best care is being provided.

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Discuss the use of medications and behavioral approaches in managing behaviors. Our goal is the lowest use of medications necessary to manage behaviors.

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Coach and prepare you to manage how to best communicate and identify the triggers that create negative outcomes. These approaches will minimize the frustration and anxiety that is so often present when trying to gain cooperation.

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Assess the physical care challenges related to your loved one's care. Some of these challenges might include refusal of medication, refusal to allow showering or changing of clothing, agitation or aggressive behavior, loss of interest in eating or drinking, sundowning, or the long list of other behaviors that make this disease so challenging for caregivers.

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Work through difficult transitions such as taking away driving privileges in the early stages or the need for a personal caregiver who is not a family member as the disease progresses.

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Make small changes to the home environment that can have a big impact on quality of life and promote safety.

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Make plans for the future by discussing care options, reviewing medical advance directives, financial and legal affairs, and creating a care plan now that allows for the most independence and enjoyable moments in the future.

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Build relationships between staff and resident, staff and staff, and management and staff if living in a senior living community or at home.

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Create a safe, trusting, and loving environment that fosters well-being and harmony.

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Our Dementia Care Coaches

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• Assess the current situation and create a care plan for the best ways to manage the disease

• Explain what to expect as the disorder progresses

• Help you understand the meaning behind behavioral changes

• Help you simplify tasks and create high- and low-intensity activities

• Observe behavioral interactions and help you learn how to communicate better

• Assist you in changing unwanted behaviors to cooperative or manageable behaviors

• Encourage you by helping to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression

• Walk alongside you in this journey and give you the tools you will need to be a successful caregiver

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Our Dementia Activity Specialists

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Trained in Dementia Care with the Rosalynn Carter Institute, Gem Level Program with PAC (Positive Approach to Care) with Teepa Snow, or the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (NCCDP).

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Assist in discovering the interests and passions of the person with dementia.

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Create a comprehensive plan that includes emotional, spiritual, intellectual, purposeful, and engaging activities for enjoyment and fulfillment.

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Invest in learning about and caring for the person with dementia from a social or relational view. They understand that the person had a full and vivid life prior to this diagnosis, and they will encourage their interests to continue to be expressed.

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Provide respite to the family by taking the person out to restaurants, shopping, or working at a charity. For later stages, they may provide massage or music to form a meaningful connection.

 

At Premier Care Management, Our Expertise Is Dementia Care

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What is Dementia?

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Dementia is not a specific disease. It is an overall term that describes a group of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to interfere with a person's ability to perform everyday activities. While there are over 70 different diseases that have associated dementia signs and symptoms, 60% of all dementia is related to Alzheimer's disease.

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Alzheimer's disease is a progressive and irreversible brain disorder that affects memory, reason, logic, concentration, and communication. It is progressive, irreversible, and fatal.

However, over 15% of people who are diagnosed with memory loss actually have a reversible brain disorder.

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A diagnosis of memory loss can be related to delirium from an infection, hormone imbalance, alcohol or drug interaction, or even depression. It's important to know if there is a treatment available for these cognitive changes instead of resigning yourself to thinking this is happening because of "old age" or a normal expectation. Dementia is not a normal part of aging.

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As we age, some memory loss is normal. Forgetting a name, where we parked the car, or not remembering to pick up an item at the grocery store is something we have all experienced. For a person with dementia, these moments may happen frequently and will cause anxiety for them. But there's more than just memory changes. With Alzheimer's, there is impaired judgment, disorientation, confusion, behavioral changes, impaired concentration, and in the later stages, impaired speaking, swallowing, and balance.

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We Offer Virtual Consultation

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We understand that the need for assistance may not be available in your area. We have created a program that can assist you virtually through video (Zoom) conferencing. Don't let the area you live in limit your ability to get help in caring for your loved one.

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Take the Next Step

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If your loved one has been diagnosed with a form of dementia or you feel that your loved one is having memory problems, your next thought might be, "What do I do now?" That's where we come in. Let's have a conversation and see how our Dementia Care Coaches can assist you and your loved one through this disease process.

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We have been where you are, and we can help. Connect with us today by filling out the contact form. For immediate assistance, call us at: 404-430-5307.