Dementia Certificate Series

Dementia is a broad term for a decline in mental ability that is significant enough to interfere with a person's daily life. Over 5 million Americans are living with dementia; someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's disease every 65 seconds. This number is expected to double by 2030, and triple by 2050. Since there is no cure for dementia, this disease results in a progressive decline of cognitive and functional skills. Many individuals with dementia also experience behavioral changes, decreased safety awareness, difficulty eating/swallowing, and decreased independence completing ADLs. This course is designed for therapists and healthcare professionals so that they may improve outcomes, safety, and quality of life for individuals and their caregivers living with dementia.

This course will facilitate learning about functional and evidence-based techniques, interventions, and education/training strategies. Participants will learn aboutassessments and screening tools which may be used at all stages of progressive cognitive decline, and how to usethose tools to develop individualized treatment plans. Emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary treatment,documentation challenges, improving patient safety, andcaregiver education.

• Types of dementia and the neuroscience behind them
• Confidently examine physical and cognitive implications of dementia in order to more effectively implement evidence-based treatment approaches
• Develop functional treatment plans for those with dementia that will address fall prevention, mobility, feeding/swallowing, challenging behaviors and home safety
• Evidence-based treatment approaches to increase participation in daily routines and therapyactivities to improve patient safety and prevent functional decline
• Discover practical ways to provide training and education to family and caregivers

All rehabilitation settings treat patients with a diagnosis of dementia. In all settings, treating a patient with dementia can be difficult. Research confirms that people with dementia demonstrate less goal attainment in therapy due to not only their cognitive deficits, but their limited ability to fully engage in sessions (Zarit, et al., 2020). Recent research has addressed how to improve engagement and, in turn, goal attainment in therapy sessions with the dementia patient. This course will provide evidence-based and best practice interventions to effectively address engagement during therapy sessions with the dementia patient. Easyto use interventions will be provided to assist with improving safety. Effective community referral information will be provided todecrease caregiver burden. Course participants will be provided with a toolkit of new and effective interventions to use with their dementia patients the next day.

• Next day incorporation of evidence-based techniques to improve safety of the dementia patient
• Immediately build a toolkit of effective best practices for therapy engagement of the dementia patient
• Effective referrals for decreasing caregiver burden

The increasing frequency of dementia diagnosis throughout the US make it vital for healthcare practitioners, administrators and family members to be thoroughly informed of their patient's and loved ones needs in order to sustain quality of life throughout the dementia process. Current research is making incredible gains to promote quality of care and quality of life for those working with and diagnosed with dementia respectively. By applying this evidence base to ourcare not only will we be able to enhance the effectiveness of our care of this population, but we will have the strength of the evidence base in our documentation and outcomes.

This one-day innovative workshop will bridge the medical complexities facing this multifaceted diagnosis and the necessary functional applications to allow your patients to thrive in their symptom management. Participants will feel confident approaching dementia care from multiple angles, facilitating a thorough understanding of team approaches andpatient needs. Immediately implement what you learn in the workshop and feel confident treating your patients going forward. By placing yourself in your patient's shoes you will be able to feel the impacts on their quality of life and potential success as you apply immediately topics covered in the course.

• Learn the neuroplasticity components of a patient with dementia
• Evidence-based care approaches specific to the different types of dementia
• Current evaluation methods that help identify cognitive stages and how to apply findings to treatments and care of patients
• Regain functional abilities that improve the patients quality of life and potential success
• Tools to help caregivers and family members successfully carry over treatment progress
• Hands-on labs simulating the different symptoms and challenges of treating the patient with dementia
• Holistic treatment techniques applicable to each stage of cognitive decline

Older adults with dementia are 9 times as likely to require a stay in a skilled nursing facility as their cognitively intact counterparts. Skilled rehabilitation (including physical therapy,occupational therapy, speech therapy, and nursing) is an integral part of an older adult's return to the optimal functional level of independence following an injury or illness. Patients with dementia pose unique challenges to rehabilitation professionals. Severe deficits in attention, judgment, memory, communication, and language are common in individuals with dementia. The progressive nature of dementia results inincreased dependence on caregivers as well as cost to the healthcare system with worldwide costs of $604 billion in 2010.

It is commonly thought that patients with dementia cannotbenefit from rehabilitation services because of behaviors, lack of communication, or difficulties in learning. However,current literature indicates IWDs can benefit fromrehabilitation as much as adults without dementia. With the proper knowledge and training, rehabilitation clinicians areable to provide dementia-specific, person-centered care, which can maximize rehabilitation outcomes by maintaining oreven improving physical performance and function and thereby reduce healthcare costs. This course will provide you with best practice and evidence-based approaches to overcome these challenges to improve functional outcomes for these patients.

• Immediately improve your client's functional participation and outcomes using practical treatment techniques
• Effective, evidence-based interventions for patients with dementia

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates seven million older adults were diagnosed in 2014 and this number is set to double in 2060. With the increasedprevalence of dementia, more skilled intervention support isnecessary to enable occupation/function to support clients diagnosed with dementia and their caregivers. Practitioners are further empowered to provide intervention to caregivers with recent policy changes that support the growing dementiapopulation. This course will share updated evidence on dementia-friendly approaches to maximize functional outcomes. The described interventions can be applied to the practitioners' area of practice immediately after this course.

• Impactful strategies to influence and improve care using approaches based on the latest evidence
• Integrate learning into your PT/OT practice through robust discussion and presented case examples