- THCA

Volume XXXI, Number 1
January 2016

Cutting Edge CMS Funded Dementia Training is Texas Bound

THCA has exciting news! A unique, grant-funded project featuring person-directed dementia care training is coming to Texas.

The Eden Alternative® is the sole recipient of a grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to help reduce antipsychotic use in Texas and four other states. THCA is partnering with The Eden Alternative® and other organizations to encourage our members to take advantage of the Creating a Culture of Person-Directed Dementia Care which will offer skills and insight that directly support the goals of Texas’ One a Month Campaign. Funds for this project will support the delivery of a unique educational package that includes Dementia Beyond Drugs, an Eden Alternative training featuring award-winning author and geriatrician Dr. Al Power.

While Dr. Power has spent some time in Texas this fall as a keynote speaker for the T.R.A.I.N. initiative, this project will feature him as a Master Educator for an in-depth, interactive, 2-day training intensive. The goal of this educational experience is to shift the focus of dementia care from managing so-called “difficult behaviors” to, instead, identifying and responding to the unmet needs that are typically their underlying cause. Gone unchecked, unmet needs can lead to distress and the subsequent overuse of antipsychotic medications for those who live with dementia. Dr. Power will be joined by facilitators Karen Stobbe and Sonya Barsness, the co-creators of CMS’ Hand in Hand Toolkit.

Nursing homes in Texas will have the opportunity to choose between two distinct educational tracks. Track One of the project offers nine of the participating nursing homes the option to combine Dementia Beyond Drugs training with an online experience of the Care Partner Workshop (Dementia-Specific Focus), also developed by The Eden Alternative. This interactive, team-based training will engage family members, side-by-side with nursing home employees, to strengthen care partnerships and overall well-being on the team, as a way to collaboratively respond to the needs of those who live with dementia. Track Two of the project gives participants the option to register for Dementia Beyond Drugs training alone.

To receive fully-funded registration privileges, you must be an employee of a Medicare and/or Medicaid participating nursing home.

To learn more and to register,
click here.

Project space is limited,
register today.

President’s Report

President’s Report

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Legislative Update

Warren Tells House Committee that High Workforce Turnover, Low Wages Threaten Long Term Care

Representative Four Price Honored As Long Term Care Champion

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Commitment to Care

Cutting Edge CMS Funded Dementia Training is Texas Bound

CMS Clarifies Coding “Present on Admission” for Pressure Ulcers in MDS Item M0300

Receive Free Assistance to Report Clostridium Difficile Data and Stop Infection

If you have any questions about the THCA C to C Initiative or would like to share your facilities successes please contact Gloria Bean-Williams at gbwilliams@txhca.org or call (512) 458-1257.

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