Upon first glance of this article’s headline, you might think, as we did, that it’s a “puff piece” about a home care provider. But the magnitude of the information – given COVID’s ravages of the home care industry this year – shifts our focus to what could be for 2021.
There is no doubt that dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are a constant challenge in delivering home care. While some patients are physically healthy, their minds are being attacked by the sometimes-silent progression of dementia. The author stated that almost 80% of one home care provider’s patients have a primary or secondary diagnosis that includes some aspect of dementia. With the Alzheimer’s Association’s prediction of a tripling in people with Alzheimer’s by 2025, this specialized care will definitely be on the rise.
The key to better dementia home care is to provide person-centered, activity-based care, says the CEO of Tender Rose, a California-based company that has carved itself a niche in this crucial area of senior living. The company goes beyond the traditional focus on activities of daily living (ADLs) or instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and seeks to meet its clients at their greatest non-physical need. The CEO stated that they engage clients in activities “that bring them joy and meaning, at whatever level they can participate.” This is especially important for those seniors who have no physical limitations, and is generally where traditional home care falls short.
Most caregiving staff has only the most basic dementia care training that doesn’t really focus on aspects of quality of life; the Tender Rose CEO explained that this approach is more likely to trigger agitation in patients which leads to behavioral issues. Specialized dementia care education for staff, like that provided by a North Carolina dementia-focused training company, can help agencies break from the pack that sees dementia as a safety-only or ADL-only care model, and position them to dominate this growing and important segment of the home care market.