Easyceus for healthcare workers

Activities directors and other healthcare professionals here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





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Drug-Induced Dementia and Delirium Common in Seniors But Often Undetected, Public Citizen Says

Activities directors and other healthcare professionals here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Activities directors, other healthcare professionals and categivers, here is something you should know

CommonDreams.org

Older patients become more susceptible to drug-induced dementia and delirium as they age, but the symptoms are often overlooked by doctors who don't realize that the condition may be caused by drugs and reversed, Public Citizen writes in a Worst Pills, Best Pills News article released today on WorstPills.org, the organization's drug safety Web site.

Unlike most forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, which cannot be reversed, dementia caused by prescription drug use may be stopped by discontinuing the offending medication. The drug safety experts at Public Citizen have identified 136 commonly prescribed medications, especially certain antidepressants and pain medications, that can cause difficulty thinking.

Drug-induced dementia and delirium are commonly misattributed to underlying medical illness or merely to "old age." But by stopping or modifying the dosage of numerous, frequently prescribed drugs, most patients can be restored to a pre-drug state of mental clarity.

Older people are more susceptible to drug-induced delirium and dementia because the body's ability to rid itself of drugs decreases with age, often because of normal age-related decrease in kidney and liver function. Also, older patients are often prescribed multiple drugs at the same time, resulting in complicated interactions and enhanced side effects. Some research also suggests older patients' brains may be more sensitive to drugs' effects on the central nervous system.

"Sadly, doctors don't always recognize cognitive impairment as a side effect, so many patients needlessly suffer from this debilitating but reversible condition," said Sidney Wolfe, M.D., director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group and acting Public Citizen president. "After beginning new drugs, doctors, patients and their families should watch for subtle changes in cognition and assume changes may be caused by drug therapy. People already suffering from some cognitive impairment are most susceptible."

Delirium is a syndrome of changes in vision, hearing and thinking that usually starts abruptly and is commonly seen in the hospital setting or during an acute illness; symptoms typically improve when the cause is treated. Dementia, on the other hand, is a chronic alteration in thinking that progresses slowly. Alzheimer's disease is dementia's most common cause, but it also can be caused by strokes and other conditions.

Dementia Arm Chair Travel

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

An Activity for Those with All Levels of Dementia and Others Who Have Enjoyed Traveling

The name of the activity is "Arm Chair Travel". It can be used with a wide variety of people with all stages of dementia including advanced dementia and those living in nursing homes. However you must make sure to modify, "Arm Chair Travel", to meet the needs and interests of the person or persons you are doing this activity with.

Many people with dementia have done their share of traveling. They may have dreamed of traveling even if they never had the opportunity to travel. More than likely, they packed a suitcase at sometime in their life.

The reason this activity is good for those with advanced dementia is because you can put many items that appeal to a person's senses into the suitcase for the activity. Appealing to one or more of a patient, with advanced dementia, senses can make them more alert if they are tired, or bring calm to them if they have a tendency to become restless. By holding things they like can do this. A portion of this activity allows those engaging in it, to hold items appealing to their senses. The items can be anything you put in the suitcase as you will discover later in this article.

This activity allows those participating, a chance to think about places they have been and, of course, have a good time.

For more ideas go to Arm Chair Travel ideas

Top Ways to Successfully Calm an Agitated Person with Dementia

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Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a dementia music activity

AC Content

Dementia is a brain disorder that affects a person's short term memory initially. However as this condition progresses other parts of the brain are affected. This can affect a person's communication skills and ability to do tasks he has done before,

He can also experience hallucinations and delusions. Because of these things, a person with dementia may become agitated. So it is best to know this person well, whether he is a family member, client, or a patient at a long term care facility. By knowing him, you will realize what things set him off and what things calm him down. Careful observation and asking those who are with this individual with dementia for most of the day, help you to know what strategies will work when trying to calm this person.

Your goal is to calm or soothe the person with dementia who is agitated. You do not want to exhibit behavior that may further agitate a dementia person. The best way to soothe an agitated person with dementia is not to have him get agitated in the first place. This requires that you anticipate his needs and wants. It also requires that you approach him in a certain way. You should use slow, deliberate movements and approach this individual from the side. Also you should make sure not to use gestures that may be misinterpreted as being threatening. In addition you need to know what the beginning of agitation looks like in this particular person with dementia. He may pace, ask repetitive questions, call out, grimace, become silent or a variety of other things.

If this person with dementia has trouble communicating, he may be experiencing pain, hunger or fear, He may be bored, tired or having an adverse affect from a medication he is taking.

You should always note the time, duration, frequency, severity and special features of a dementia person's agitation.

These strategies work to maintain calmness in a person with dementia, Always...read all of Top Ways to Successfully Calm an Agitated Person with Dementia

Terrific Ideas for National Nursing Home Week

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a dementia music activity

Cindy-Activity Ideas

National Nursing Home Week is May 8-14

Here are some terrific ideas for National Nursing Home Week

Honoring Your Staff National Nursing Home Week® can be a time to honor staff. Have a special "cocktail" hour where residents can assist. Ask residents for suggestions for their easiest, tastiest recipes and assist them in gathering the ingredients they need. If you need more recipes than residents offer, pick a few from one of the following sites:
•http://www.recipezaar.com/r/145/81
•http://busycooks.about.com/cs/seasonalcooking/a/toohottocook.htm
You can also give out awards to honor staff and volunteers. Your categories might include the sunniest personality, the funniest staff member (or resident/family member), the most dedicated volunteer or the best bingo caller. Set up voting boxes throughout your facility and let everyone vote on the various categories.

Act of Kindness Bag
Fill a decorated bag with slips of paper suggesting different things that residents, family, friends, and staff members can do for people throughout the week. Suggestions can be simple, like sew a button on Jill's white shirt, brush and fix Sally's hair, tell a staff member a funny childhood story, etc. Ask the recipient to write a comment on the back of the "Act of Kindness" slip. At the end of the week, review the activities and comments to everyone.
Intergenerational "Life" Stories
Youngsters of any age can be fascinated by the living history that residents represent. To kids, it is hard to fathom life before McDonald's, television (even color TV), computers, video games, cell phones, plastic bags, etc. Of course, residents who are 85 years old were 20 years old in 1946, so a veteran might tell a "tale" of combat in World War II or Korea or what life was like on the home front. Suggest discussions about the advances in technology (radio, TV, movies, telephone, etc.) which are interesting topics for children.

Hug Day Proclaim a "hug day."
Ask everyone in the facility to greet each other with a warm hug and count up the hugs. The most hugs in a day wins a bouquet of National Nursing Home Week® balloons or other prizes. Bonus points go to those who make contact with residents that they do not know very well, if at all.

Salon Day
Hold a "Salon Day" for your special ladies and men. Ask local volunteer organizations or a local high school to come in and help. Set up a room as a salon and invite the ladies in for makeup, brush their hair and pin back with sparkling bobbie pins and put on nail polish. The men can come in for a haircut and shave. Try for pedicures too.

Mini-Shuffle Board
Mini-Shuffle Board is fun and easy to set up. Take a smooth piece of wood and mark lines every few inches from the beginning. Give each line a different point value starting with 10 and increase in increments of 10. The object is to push a coin along the board and add the point values of where the coin lands on the board.

Reach for the Stars
Create a "Reach for the Stars" game. Ask residents to sit in a circle, blow up a NNHW balloon and then keep the balloon in the air for as long as possible. A person whose balloon falls can still participate, but is ineligible for a prize. At the end, the person who has maintained the balloon in the air the longest would get some recognition and a special NNHW prize.

Alumni Party
Consider having an "Alumni Party" as part of the staff event (above). Invite former residents, patients (and family members) who have been discharged to home or to a community setting. Weather permitting, throw a BBQ/picnic or, if this is not possible, have a special sit down lunch or dinner.

Fancy Flags
Since each country and state has its own flag, how about each of your residents having one of their own? Ask residents to draw what they would like onto their flag (e.g. decorate according to their hobbies). When finished, staple each flag onto a dowel and have a "parade."

How to Get a Person with Dementia to Eat

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a dementia music activity

AC Content

There are many reasons why persons with dementia do not eat. Some of these reasons are, loss of vision, depression, being alone, swallowing difficulty, pain, being tired and digestion problems. Because of these difficulties, food may be no longer be appealing, or it may not taste good to them. Involving person with dementia in activities may spark their interest in
Have the person with dementia help you plan a meal from beginning to end. Determine what is going to be served. Get out some cookbooks and look up favorite recipes. Talk about the "good old days". Discuss their favorite recipes. Talk about special tricks in preparing certain foods. Help him make invitations for a special meal. Let him prepare a simple dish with as much assistance as needed. Let him taste the foods you are preparing. If he is unable to actively participate, let him observe the preparation, but still let him smell and taste the food you are preparing.
Making food that takes all day long to prepare in a slow cooker, fills the room with delightful smells that often increase a person's appetite. You can prepare a stew. The advantage to doing this besides creating the outstanding aroma, is that it is cost effective, and the food is soft and easier to eat.
You can also make a  read all of ...How to Get a Person with Dementia to Eat

Why Validation Therapy Works for Those with Dementia

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a dementia music activity

AC Content

Emotions are one of the last things to be lost in a person with dementia. Although not all aspects of validation therapy work for a person with dementia, understanding the concept of it is useful to the dementia caregiver. Some parts of validation therapy work for most people with dementia. You, as a caregiver, must discover what portions are effective for the person you are taking care of.
Dementia, a brain condition, is characterized by a group of symptoms that cause changes in the functioning of the brain. The changes have to do with thinking, perception and learning. These changes affect decision making, judgment, memory, spatial orientation, thinking, reasoning, and communication

This condition interferes with daily life because of the seriousness of the changes in the brain of a person with dementia.. Behavior and personality problems most often occur. As we age, the likelihood of developing dementia increases. Validation therapy helps control problem behavior.
Time for a person with dementia can be....read all of Why Validation Therapy Works for Those with Dementia